I Know Why the Cage Bird Sins
by lesbiaN7ncest
Summary: When her unrequited feelings for Jacqui Briggs cause Cassie Cage problems with her personal life and work in Special Forces, the young sergeant learns that her mother is no stranger to experiences with women. But Cassie soon discovers that while General Sonya Blade has some suggestions for her, her mother is also suffering from her own issues as well.
1. Chapter 1

Contains Spoilers for the end of Mortal Kombat X.

Also has a single, but notable, canon-divergence for the sake of the plot of this story to work. Said divergence should be immediately obvious in the opening part.

* * *

It had been an eventful day for Cassie Cage and Jacqui Briggs, as the two Special Forces females walked side by side into the female locker rooms back at their local H.Q. While they both exhibited a certain degree of fatigue in their body language and the manner at which they walked, both wore a satisfied smile upon their faces and their eyes sparkled with a sense of a job well done. Throwing their gear down on some nearby benches they both stretched and smiled at each other broadly.

"It's good to be back," Jacqui noted contentedly, her arms stretched at full-length vertically.

"Yeah," Cassie agreed casually as she began to unclip the belts from her clothing. "Especially when our efforts mean there's a home to come back to."

"Well Kotal Kahn is going to have to do a lot better than that weak ass attempt if he wants to beat us," Jacqui noted confidently.

"You make it sound like that was a breeze," Cassie noted, half jokingly and half questioning Jacqui's claim.

"It was. I mean, compared to what we've had to deal with before. I don't know why he even bothered this time."

"Maybe he's just trying to keep the pressure on?" Cassie wondered. She placed one boot upon a bench and began to unfasten it.

"He'd be better off actually building up his forces before throwing those pathetic fuckers at us," Jacqui scoffed. "If he wants to whittle us down he's going about it the wrong way. We're just carving through his men instead like this."

"I just wish he'd stop this shit!" Cassie said, emphasizing the last word as she pulled the boot off. She switched feet to start removing the other. "We were so close to finally brokering peace and not having to deal with those Outworld assholes for the first time in for-fucking-ever, and then it all got screwed up!"

"I've got to admire you for being willing to have peace after what happened to your dad," Jacqui said. "If that happened to me, I'd want the whole lot of them wiped out."

"Kahn didn't kill dad!" Cassie growled back with a scowl. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "That queen bee bitch did."

"Sorry Cassie," Jacqui said. "I didn't mean to open old wounds." Jacqui paused. "Maybe next time you'll get to finish her off."

"Trust me, I will," Cassie said determinedly. "She won't have Shinnok to save her yellow ass next time we meet."

"Here's hoping," Jacqui said with a shake of her head. "These dicks seem to keep finding ways to come back when we think they're gone for good."

"As annoying as that is, at least it gives me hope for some of the others Quan Chi enslaved," Cassie sighed.

"I guess there is that," Jacqui said, trying to sound hopeful. "It's been a while since we've seen Raiden though. It's a good thing we've been able to deal with these incursions without him."

"Easily, according to you," Cassie joked. She turned away from Jacqui and began to remove her tactical combat bodysuit. "The way you spoke it's like you didn't break a sweat."

Cassie heard a chuckle from behind her and then sensed Jacqui was a lot closer. The dark-skinned woman pressed up behind Cassie, her head over the young Sergeant's right shoulder while her fingers joined Cassie's as the edge of the jumpsuit to help peel it from Cassie's shoulder.

"I see you did though," Jacqui whispered suggestively in Cassie's ear. "You look so hot when you're all sweaty."

Cassie let out a light moan as Jacqui leaned closer and ran her tongue up from Cassie's jaw line and up the side of her cheek to her brow. "Mmmmmmmmmmm..." Jacqui emitted with hungry satisfaction at the completion of the act.

"I've always been told I have excellent taste," Cassie retorted, reaching back with one arm to stroke and cradle Jacqui's head. Her bodysuit continued to slide down her body exposing her bare arms and a tight tank-top that clung to her curves. Jacqui chuckled again.

"I might have not worked up a sweat, but I've definitely worked up an appetite," Jacqui noted before kissing Cassie's bared shoulder.

"Sounds good," Cassie responded, turning to look at Jacqui. "I'm rather hungry too."

Cassie encouraged Jacqui to look up with a gentle, but firm, pressure under the chin until they faced each other. She then closed the distance and their lips locked, then tongues and saliva writhed together like wrestling snakes. After a good few seconds of this their mouths eventually parted with a slurp, two strands of saliva snapping into oblivion.

"So I see," Jacqui said flirtatiously. "What are we going to do about this... mutual hunger?"

"Wherever we choose to go, I suggest eating out," Cassie fired back, the last two words of her sentence dripping with carnal lust.

Cassie turned around completely into Jacqui, pressing up against the other woman until she forced her back against a wall behind. Their lips mashed together again, more emphatically and hungrier than before. Cassie began to pull at Jacqui's clothing to get it off both roughly and quickly, interrupting their kissing for brief moments as an article of clothing had to pass between them or she had to reach out of kissing range. Similarly Jacqui doubled her efforts in getting the rest of Cassie's clothing removed, her hands roaming over her lover's pale, sweaty skin now and then between attempts.

"I'm still sweaty though," Cassie breathed between passionate making out. "I should really clean up."

"I should help you," Jacqui hissed back. "Make sure I help you clean every nook and cranny."

"I can think of one you could definitely help me with," Cassie answered back with a lascivious smirk and a naughty twinkle in her blue eyes.

"Let me guess..." Jacqui said, her heavy-lidded brown eyes meeting said naughty twinkle. "Could it be between... these?"

Jacqui grasped Cassie's breasts in her palms and squeezed them firmly. Cassie laughed, flicking her eyebrows upward briefly as she stared back.

"Nope. Try lower," the Sergeant said before biting her lower lip slightly.

"It can't be this one," Jacqui teased, circling her finger around Cassie's exposed navel. Cassie shivered a bit from the sensation.

"Try again," the blonde suggested playfully.

"Ahhhhhh... I know," Jacqui said, giving Cassie her most provocative glance and running her tongue over her upper lip. "You must be talking about..."

Jacqui trailed off as her eyes and one hand looked down. A dark-skinned hand pressed palm-first against a pale-skinned stomach and began to slide downwards. Jacqui's eyes flicked back up to meet Cassie's where they stared right into the blonde woman's very soul. Jacqui winked before finishing her sentence.

"This."

Cassie moaned loudly a split second later as she felt a pair of fingers slide within her slippery folds. It didn't last long though as instead of throwing her head back in pleasure she instead found herself jolting forward and upright in sudden surprise and shock. Cassie Cage was left sweaty and panting, but the pleasure that had just started to build was replaced by realization and disappointment. She was not in the locker room in the capable hands of Jacqueline Briggs but instead sitting upright in a bed, in her own quarters and very much alone. Cassie frowned in the darkness, then thumped the bed angrily on either side of her thighs with both fists. This had not been the first time that Cassie's fantasies had come crashing down over the past few days. In fact, she had had dreams like this for several months now. It was starting to get to her, much like losing her father had been a recurring nightmare in the wake of it actually happening.

Part of Cassie realized that she should have at least been somewhat pleased with the outcome of the events from just over half a year ago now. While she had lost her father to D'Vorah, she had saved Earthrealm from Shinnok, Quan Chi and the forces of Outworld during the whole ordeal. In the case of Shinnok, she'd defeated him herself and learned she possessed some of her father's special abilities in the process. Earth had been safe from invasion ever since as far as she could tell, as despite what her dreams would tell her they were not getting invaded by small groups of Kotal Kahn's forces now and then. In the grand scheme of things the enemies she had to deal with had been rather simple affairs lately. They had not achieved peace with Outworld in the way they had originally intended to by any means, but for now it was at least peaceful.

But during the events that led to it all it felt like Cassie had not only lost a father, but also something else. Jacqui and her were no more than friends really, but Cassie had developed feelings for her over the course of their time together. It had even been a major reason why Cassie had wanted Jacqui to be in Special Forces and part of her team: she wanted to get closer to the woman she'd fallen for. But somewhere along the way instead of reciprocating any feelings Jacqui had become closer to their teammate Takeda Takahashi. So much so that the two were pretty much an item now, and had been for many months. Cassie got on with her job and didn't let it interfere with the group dynamic or the missions, but it broke her heart whenever she saw them together during downtime. And lately it had been getting worse, and so had Cassie's dreams.

Would it have been any different if Cassie had actually told Jacqui how she felt before it could happen? Probably not. Jacqui probably simply wasn't into women and just saw Cassie as her friend and superior. But that didn't stop Cassie from wondering if things would have been different if she had made the first move instead of just trying to get closer to the Briggs woman and hoping that either Jacqui would bring up an attraction to her or something would just happen naturally between them along the way. In either case, it was too late now. All she could do was hope and scratch her own itch now and then with illusions and fantasies of what would now never be. Cassie sighed and figured she may as well just do that now in fact.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Wide-eyed with disbelief, Cassie stared at the alarm clock beside her bed that buzzed annoyingly as large red digits red 06:00 while her own digits stopped only an inch short from their intended goal. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Cassie uttered, slamming her head back down into the pillow and staring up at the ceiling as if some deity resided there that would hear her despair. No answer came. Cassie grunted and slammed her hand down upon the clock, silencing it. It was time to get up and get dressed for morning training. There was not much time to rest in Special Forces, especially for Cassandra Cage.


	2. Chapter 2

Why did it have to be the Black Dragon again?

Cassie and her team had been sent by General Blade to investigate a lead that the Black Dragon was involved in some kind of deal with a local criminal syndicate at a dockside warehouse in San Francisco. It didn't take long for the team to find the warehouse, where so far only unidentified men in suits milled around. This was suspicious enough though, especially when Kung Jin reported that he spotted a not-quite-concealed weapon on one of them. Jacqui, Takeda and Kung Jin each took up their positions according to Cassie's orders, with Kung Jin outside the warehouse up high on a loading crane to oversee the area from outside while the other three snuck inside to hide behind crates, forklifts and other dockside equipment, hopefully out of sight of their marks.

"Vehicle approaching," Kung Jin's smooth voice whispered in their earpieces less than five minutes later. "One unmarked black van." There was silence before he spoke again. "Looks like they're coming through the northeast entrance. I make out eight of them. All armed."

Cassie sent an acknowledgement signal, then another telling Kung Jin to close distance. She peered around the corner of her cover as the newcomers walked in, recognizing them as Black Dragon due to two key factors: one of them had a telling tattoo, and another she knew to be a prominent member of the group. The latter was a woman with dark red hair pulled into long pigtails wearing tight red and black leather clothing and wielding a large knife casually, while another sat sheathed upon her hip. Her name was Kira, and she was bad news. Especially since Kano had been taken into custody. The rest of her men were all armed with fairly high-tech weapons, the largest of them a giant of a man who held two larger silver briefcases in his hands, but had an impressive rifle slung across his back.

Cassie had given instructions for no moves to me made until she gave any orders, so the deal began to go down much like any such deal does between a criminal syndicate and weapon dealers who specialize in cop-killing equipment. Cassie thought everything was going to go smoothly as all the usual pieces were falling into place. But then something unexpected happened.

"Before we continue," Kira said in a proud, almost overly dramatic manner. "I just want to test out a new little toy of mine, if you don't mind."

Kira produced a small silver ball from her own cleavage, not much bigger than a golf ball. She smiled at the suited man she had been talking to during the deal thus far.

"Do not be alarmed, this isn't going to harm you or your men," she sardonically reassured him. "In fact, consider it a free demonstration on something you may just want to add to your new collection if you've got a few thousand spare with you."

Kira winked then drew her arm back as if pitching a baseball before hurling the small device skyward, approximately in the center of the warehouse. Cassie immediately had a bad feeling about what was happening, but she didn't know what to expect beyond that. The device reached the peak of its trajectory and just as gravity took hold of it a thin strand of wire shot upwards and something punctured the ceiling of the warehouse with a sharp sound. The orb hung there for about a second before an aperture opened on the underside of it, too small to be witnessed by the observers, but evidence of it presented itself as a small glowing protrusion poked down from it. There was a flash and then the entire warehouse was quickly bathed in aqua-colored light. Cassie and her team heard a sinister laugh from Kira.

"It appears this device has already paid for itself," Kira said smugly. "I detect three little pigs who think they're hiding away in here. I guess it's time to blow their houses down. Boys!"

"Shit!" Cassie whispered to herself. "We're made!" she told the others over their comms. "Evasive maneuvers!"

Cassie immediately rolled away and flipped backwards over another crate, just as a volley of gunfire tore up the ground she had previously occupied. Cassie dug into her new position and began to return fire and she could see Jacqui not far away doing the same, while Takeda was a bit further away attempting the same. The trio of Special Forces soldiers exchanged fire with their adversaries, Cassie and Jacqui both managing to take down one the suited non-Black Dragon men each. Takeda on the other hand lost his weapon as a bullet struck it, and with the enemies noticing the weakness they pressed the advantage. It wasn't long before Takeda was pinned and flanked with no visible way out. Cassie and Jacqui looked on, and the latter was not impressed.

"I've got to help him," Jacqui said to her friend and superior.

"No!" Cassie ordered. "Hold position! That's an order."

"But in a few seconds he'll be surrounded!" Jacqui growled back. "He doesn't have a chance!"

"I said hold!" Cassie reiterated. "Not yet."

Jacqui obeyed Cassie's order with a frustrated grunt, but then a volley of bullets ricochet off the concrete ground near Takeda and struck him in the lower leg. It was a glancing blow, but he yelped in pain and a small jet of blood squirted in an arch before splattering a few feet away upon the ground. Jacqui frowned and gritted her teeth.

"Fuck this!" she said and she dove out of cover. Cassie gasped and reached out, but it was too late.

"God damn it Briggs! I said hold!" she growled in frustration. "Shit!"

Jacqui ran down the middle of the warehouse towards Takeda, screaming and firing her gun at the closest enemies. She nailed one between the eyes and a second dove out of the way but took a shot to the thigh in the process. Before she could get even halfway to Takeda though, Jacqui suddenly spun around as a bullet collected her shoulder. She stumbled and despite a valiant attempt to regain her balance, her feet got caught in a stray cable and she fell to the ground. Jacqui shook it off but heard a click and whirled around, looking up to see a smirking Black Dragon member standing over her with his gun pointed straight at her. It was the one with the tattoo. "Say good night, bitch!" he said with satisfied hatred as he took aim.

Jacqui's eyes widened, and she hoped more than anything that she had just been a little closer so she could retaliate, but she knew she wasn't quicker than a bullet. She was still going to try though, but gave up the attempt as there was a whooshing sound followed by a juddering thud above her and her foe stumbled backwards with a thick, familiar arrow sticking from his upper chest, right where his neck met it. He made a gurgling choking sound as he fell backwards and Jacqui heard another whoosh as another arrow struck the next nearest mercenary right through the center of the head, destroying his nose before cracking out the back of his head.

"Go!" Kung Jin's voiced sounded from behind her. "Get to safety!"

Jacqui took her friend's advice, scrambling back to her feet and quickly gathering her dropped weapon before making a firing withdraw out of the warehouse. Takeda in the meantime used the distraction of their late-to-the-party teammate to activate his whips and turn on the men who were going to try and flank him. After dealing with them he decided to retreat rather than push his luck with his injured leg. Cassie began to back away as she fired both pistols at the enemies, eventually making her way to Kung Jin. She turned to her bow-wielding friend and smirked. "What took you so long?"

"I didn't want to proceed without your approval," he answered before sending another arrow across the warehouse. "I also overheard what Kira said and was hoping that if I stayed back long enough her little toy would not detect me."

"I'm glad somebody can follow orders," Cassie grumbled. "Want to assist in a little demolitions?"

"What did you have in mind?" Kung Jin asked curiously.

"Think you can hit those briefcases?" Cassie asked.

"If you cover me, without a doubt," he nodded. "Fire Quiver?"

"I didn't know you were psychic," Cassie answered with sarcastic satisfaction. Kung Jin smiled back and imbued his arrow with fire, then shot it off while Cassie kept him covered. The first one made contact with one of the cases, and it wasn't long before another flaming arrow slammed into the other one too. The large man carrying the cases dropped them, but went for the large gun at his back. As he did Cassie turned to Kung Jin again.

"See the yellow block on the top of his gun?" she told him. "Shoot that..." she watched and paused. "Now!"

King Jin let his arrow fly and it connected with the weapon, right where Cassie had instructed. There was the briefest sound of a gasp before there was a massive explosion centered on the pierced gun's wielder, and then two more explosions from the briefcases at either side of his now burning feet. There was discord among both the surviving Black Dragon members and the men who they were dealing with at this, and Cassie took this opportunity to order her people to retreat from the scene and rendezvous at the drop zone before heading home. The co-pilot of the helicopter dealt with both Jacqui and Takeda's wounds for a few minutes at the start of the journey home, but after that it was an awkwardly silent trip back to base. Jacqui looked up at Cassie once with embarrassed shame, and never again for the rest of the journey given the glare Cassie returned. When the chopper touched back down the two injured parties were instructed to go to the medical bay by Cassie sharply, with nothing else said to them. Cassie congratulated Kung Jin for a job well done in front of the other two, gave Jacqui one final death stare, then casually said she'd be writing up the mission report in her quarters if she was needed as she stomped out of sight.

Cassie didn't see the other three members of her squad for another six hours. She sat in the mess hall, slowly eating a bowl of unappetizing soup that looks dull and gray and tasted just as bad as it appeared. Jacqui and Takeda entered only a few minutes afterwards, choosing to eat their meal at another table across the hall. Cassie could hear them talking and laughing, as if the mission they'd just undergone hadn't happened. If it wasn't for the bandage around Jacqui's shoulder and the one on Takeda's right leg there'd be no signs at all of what they'd just been through. Cassie just stared across at them, cringing ever so slightly whenever Jacqui let out a loud laugh or whenever any remotely intimate physical contact was made between them. After a few minutes of being lost in this state to the point of no longer caring how awful her food was, Cassie was jostled out of it by the sound of a bowl hitting the wooden table nearby.

"So this is what they turn the worn out combat boots into," Kung Jin's voice said almost humorlessly from Cassie's left.

"Guess so," Cassie answered, even more humorlessly than her friend.

"Mind if I join you?" Kung Jin asked, already taking a seat beside her anyway.

"Knock yourself out," Cassie said flatly.

"This may do that for me," Kung Jin said as he looked down at his bowl of soup. "If we fed this to the enemy I think it would be a violation of the Geneva Convention. And yet it's okay for us to consume it?"

"It should be reserved for only the worst people," Cassie responded. "Like rapists and murderers." She paused. "And people that don't follow orders and almost get people killed."

"You are still annoyed at Jacqui," Kung Jin said.

"I've heard less obvious questions," Cassie said sarcastically.

"It was not a question," Kung Jin responded matter-of-factly. "It is quite obvious to the trained eye." He paused. "Like many things."

"She could have got us all killed," Cassie said with frustration, sending the spoon one in her hand clattering into the now empty bowl before her as she tossed it in forcefully. "And worst of all she should know better!"

"She made a mistake," Kung Jin stated. "As we all do now and then. She made a call, and it was the wrong one."

"She's supposed to follow orders. My orders," Cassie said firmly. "If anybody is going to mistakes on this mission it should only be me. Because I'm the one who makes the calls, and I'm the one who is responsible for the mission and all of you. If she can't handle that then I don't want her in my squad."

"You don't mean that," Kung Jin said, emotion creeping into his up until then purely emotionless tone.

"I can't have people who jeopardize the mission like that," Cassie said. "It's as simple as that. She should have trusted my judgment on the matter. I knew that you hadn't been detected when Kira said they'd only found three of us, and I knew that you weren't far away. Takeda was only really in trouble when Jacqui interfered. I mean, did she also completely forget what he's capable of, even without a ranged weapon?"

"She only did it because she loves him," Kung Jin said. "Love can easily cloud judgment when the ones we care about are in danger. It is easy to miss obvious details when this happens."

"The way she feels about him is becoming dangerous," Cassie said with a heavy sigh, looking back at the again-laughing couple across the room.

"That may be so," Kung Jin nodded. "But is that any more dangerous than what the way you feel about her is doing to our team."

"That's got nothing to d-"

Cassie cut off her own sentence then slowly turned to Kung Jin, both of her eyebrows as high as they could be on her forehead. Kung Jin gave her an awkward smile and the slightest hint of a shrug.

"What... what do you mean?" Cassie asked, clearly flustered.

"They may not see it," Kung Jin said as he jerked his head in Jacqui and Takeda's direction. "But I do." He paused. "Like I said, it is quite obvious to the trained eye."

"Trained eye?" Cassie repeated slowly. Kung Jin let out a small chuckle.

"I see the way you look at her when you think nobody is watching you. And I have been in the same situation," he told her, his voice somewhat distant and yet in a strangely fond manner. "Not exactly mind you, but I know the pain and frustration that came come with an unrequited love that is out of reach and probably always will be."

"I see," Cassie said. "And... how did you deal with it?"

"I accepted it," Kung Jin said firmly. "There is no sense pining for that which is unattainable. Accept it. Move on." He paused and looked back across at the other half of their team. "And try to at least be happy that she is with somebody else that makes her happy."

"You make it sound easy," Cassie said with a deep breath.

"I never said that," Kung Jin answered with resignation. "But what else can you do?"

He finished the last of his soup, then got to his feet and turned away. Cassie felt a hand on her shoulder. "Think on that," he said before leaving.

"I will," Cassie whispered to nobody a few moments after Kung Jin had already left.

But already it seemed like her friend's words were being forgotten as she looked across at the happy couple laughing together. Every sound of happiness from Jacqui seemed to stab at Cassie's heart, making her feel like it should be her making Jacqui feel that way instead of Takeda. Why did she have to accept that Jacqui was with somebody else? Where was her happiness in all of this?

Cassie was brought back to reality by the sound of a beeping coming from her wrist. She pressed a button and her mother's face appeared on the small display on her wrist-communicator.

"Sergeant Cage," General Blade said. "I would like to go over your mission report as soon as you're available, if you don't mind."

Cassie could tell from her mother's voice that she was concerned, curious and angry all at once. Cassie's face adopted the firm, emotionless form it often did when speaking with her mother about Special Forces duty.

"Of course, General," she said with a firm nod. "I'll be there soon. How does seventeen hundred hours sound?"

"That would be ideal," Sonya answered. "There are some details I'd like to go over personally and some questions I have."

"Understood," Cassie said. "I'll be there soon."

Cassie sighed and looked at the clock in the mess hall again. She had less than ten minutes to mentally prepare herself for what would probably be a grilling from her mother. It was times like this she wished she could be reassigned to another Special Forces base and not have to answer to her own mother.


	3. Chapter 3

Cassie spent only about ten minutes in her mother's office going over what happened on the mission with General Blade, but it felt like over an hour to her. She tried not to let anything color the events and just went through each point at a time in order. She prided herself on at keeping a report neutral to her mother and merely stating facts, and while it was hard to do so under the circumstances she managed to get through the post-mission debriefing in this fashion. When the final account of what had transpired was given, General Blade sat back and looked at Cassie thoughtfully.

"Thank you, Sergeant," Sonya stated. "I take it that keeping your personal opinions to yourself on this one was taxing."

"Yes ma'am," Cassie said firmly, trying not to think about it.

"I have a few questions," Sonya continued. "I'm sure you figured that I would."

"I did," Cassie said with a quick nod.

"Would you class this mission as a failure or a success, Sergeant?" General Blade asked simply.

"I'd say that it was a failure that had a mostly positive outcome," Cassie answer straightly. "Or at best an overall success despite its failures."

"You destroyed the weapons and broke up the deal," the older woman noted. "I'd classify the mission as a success personally. But you believe that Specialist Briggs put the mission in jeopardy by not following your orders?"

"Permission to answer your question with one of my own," Cassie responded. Sonya gave her an approving nod and gestured to go ahead. "Do you not?"

"I do," General Blade agreed. "But I get the feeling that you feel personally slighted in this case. Are you more concerned about the fact that Specialist Briggs didn't follow orders, or the fact she didn't do what you told her to?"

"Are they not the same thing?" Cassie asked. Sonya shrugged.

"Not quite," the older woman elaborated. "I'm just wondering whether you feel she was questioning you personally in this case rather than the order itself?"

"Not at all," Cassie said. "I believe that she merely had her priorities wrong. She was more concerned about the safety and well-being of Takeda than about the overall mission and the safety and well-being of the team as a whole."

"I see," Sonya said. "I happened to receive several other reports that led others to believe you were personally insulted by her actions based on your own reactions."

"I was merely annoyed at the situation," Cassie stated. "I expect members of my team to follow orders. Simple as that."

"It sounds like you understand Specialist Briggs' motives however," Sonya pressed. "Or at least you think you do."

"Ma'am?"

"You kept your initial report neutral, and all you said was that she disobeyed your order to hold position and instead aided Takahashi. But now you have stated you felt that she was more concerned about his safety than the mission and the team."

"That is correct," Cassie said with a firm nod. "Briggs and Takahashi are involved in a romantic relationship. This has complicated matters in my estimation."

"So you are saying that you understand what Specialist Briggs did and the reasons behind it, but that you feel she should not have acted on those reasons?"

"Yes ma'am."

"She saw somebody she cared about in danger, and you expected her to just accept that?" the General asked.

"She should have trusted my judgment," Cassie answered confidently. "The situation was under control. Not only is Takeda very capable even without a ranged weapon, but the enemy had not noticed Kung Jin at all. If she had listened to my orders and just waited a few more seconds it would have all worked out. Jacqui's own judgment was clouded by personal feelings."

"Very well," Sonya said, leaning forward on her desk with her hands clasped together. "I am going to put this additional information in the report as well. It is my opinion that this is one of those situations where the reasoning behind the actions that took place is a vital aspect of the mission report as a whole."

"Yes ma'am."

"I will, of course, be doing the same for the reports of the three other members of your team," Sonya added. "I will take all points of view into consideration. You may be in command of the team and my daughter, but should I decide to take any actions based on what happened you shall receive no special treatment."

"Yes ma'am," Cassie said obediently. Why her mother had to state that was beyond her, as she'd never been given any special treatment before.

"However, as it currently stands I have decided that I will take no disciplinary action against any of your team at this time," Sonya stated. "It will be up to you to discipline Specialist Briggs for her insubordination as you see fit."

"But General!" Cassie exclaimed. "I think-"

"This is a first time offense and I do not believe Specialist Briggs was intentionally being contumacious," Sonya interrupted. Her voice softened a little. "And Jacqui is your friend and we need her at the moment." Sonya paused and her voice became 'serious business' again. "If she repeats such behavior then I will look into administering firmer action, but as it stands I believe you will be able to administer an appropriate punishment within your rank. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Cassie backed down. She was pissed though.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?" the General asked her daughter.

Cassie thought for a while about how to respond to that. What she was feeling deep inside was fighting the words that Kung Jin had given her. Part of her believed what her friend said and told her that he was right and that she should let this go. But part of her was hurt, angry and frustrated by Jacqui and her actions. It was bad enough that she was with Takeda instead of her, and it was bad enough that they seemed to rub their relationship in Cassie's face in every free moment between missions. But to have it get in the way of the job was another matter entirely.

"I would like you to charge Jacqui Briggs and Takeda Takahashi with fraternization," Cassie said firmly. "Their relationship is inappropriate, a distraction and is getting in the way of my unit's ability to function."

Sonya frowned for a moment. "Denied," she stated. The way Sonya spoke was in that manner Cassie recognized that meant the subject was closed for discussion. That was usually enough for Cassie to back down immediately, but not this time.

"I strongly object," Cassie countered. "Permission to ask 'why?'"

"The charge is not appropriate to the situation," General Blade told her daughter. "The charge of fraternization only applies to prohibited personal relationships between service members of different ranks and positions. Briggs and Takahashi are ranked at the same level."

"I still want them charged with something," Cassie objected. "They are a disruption."

"Then deal with them yourself," Sonya suggested. "Discipline your own people as you see fit when it comes to such minor issues."

"Minor issues?" Cassie repeated. "Jacqui's actions today could have gotten any one of us killed."

"But they didn't," Sonya said. "If they had then I would be taking this more seriously. From where I'm sitting, this is an admittedly important, yet overall minor breach of discipline. And one you need to sort out yourself. But might I suggest that you evaluate the situation as a whole and not just blame Briggs for everything."

"Meaning?" Cassie asked suspiciously, knowing that her mother was implying something.

"Meaning that situations like this are a two-way street, Sergeant," the General said. "You are quite correct in that you are the one whose orders Jacqui should be following, and that it is your responsibility to command respect from her so that she will follow your orders. For some reason Jacqui has decided to not follow your orders, which may mean that there is something that is stopping her from respecting your command."

Cassie started to get angry at that. Was her mother really intimating that she wasn't worthy of command or that this was somehow her fault.

"It's got nothing to do with my ability to lead my team!" Cassie countered, letting her usual subservient behavior in front of her mother be taken over by her passion. "It's because Jacqui loves Takeda instead of me!"

Sonya blinked in surprise at this outburst, one eyebrow raising as she considered Cassie. The young sergeant realized what she had said without thinking and her cheeks reddened.

"I-I-I mean..." she stammered. "I mean that Jacqui loves Takeda, so she is more concerned about him that she is about following my orders."

Cassie paused and looked at her mother, hoping that she had been convincing. "That's what I'm talking about. Takeda has replaced me in the sense that he is first on Jacqui's mind because they are a couple, while I'm just her team leader. She's prioritizing their relationship over the job."

There was a silence between mother and daughter for a while, thick and awkward. Sonya looked Cassie over and the younger of the two could tell that there was much going on in her mother's mind. Cassie had a strong suspicion that while her follow-up explanation about her issue with Jacqui was actually quite true from her perspective, her mother had already worked out that her initial outburst was just as valid as the correction.

"Then you need to have a talk with Jacqui," Cassie said simply. "You need to let her know that when it comes to the job, she is to follow your orders and ignore her feelings for Takeda. There's plenty of time for them to express their mutual feelings for each other during downtime. If she can't handle that, then we can see about perhaps splitting the group up or something. But you need to make sure that you're worthy of her respect, loyalty and obedience. Understood?"

"Yes, General Blade," Cassie said firmly. "I... understand." A pause. "Anything else?"

"That's all for now," Sonya said. "Dismissed."

Cassie saluted her mother, then turned around and headed towards the door. She heard a sigh from behind her before her mother spoke again. "Cassie, wait."

Cassie stopped, looking back over her shoulder at her mother. General Blade had stood up from her desk and from her expression she appeared to look rather sympathetic.

"Lock the door," Sonya instructed. Cassie looked at her questioningly, but then reached forward and clicked the lock shut. Sonya nodded with a smile then gestured to a seat before her desk.

Cassie pretty much never used the chair, even though it was always there. She pretty much always stood before her mother at attention, her arms folded at the small of her back while she looked at where the ceiling met the upper wall behind her mother. As Cassie sat down her mother turned away to look through the blinds and out the window that stretched along the back wall of her office. Cassie heard another sigh from the General before her mother spoke again.

"Cassie, what I'm about to tell you is of a personal nature and does not leave this room. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Cassie responded. She was curious as to where her mother was going with this.

"As you know, I joined the Marines at a very young age and focused pretty much solely on being the best that I could be," Sonya began. "I pushed myself a lot and didn't have time for friends as such. Ironically, my actions triggered by a family tragedy were leaving me very much alone. At least on a personal level. I had colleagues and with time subordinates, but I wouldn't really say I had many close friends."

Sonya turned away from the window to look down at her daughter. Cassie just sat there taking it in, hanging on her mother's every word. Sonya smiled and continued.

"There was one exception though, when I was in my late teens. Her name was Bridgette. And at first I hated her. She was so competitive and always trying to be better than me. We were pretty evenly matched, and sometimes I would beat her and sometimes she would beat me."

"Why did you hate her?" Cassie asked. "Sounds like you two would have got along well."

"We did after a while," Sonya said. "But for a while there I was so annoyed with her. Because while I was striving to be the very best and busting my ass at every opportunity, she was still being sociable with the others, got along with everybody and would goof off and just slack off now and then. And yet we were pretty much on the same level. It made me feel like she was just better than me, and I thought that if she devoted herself like I had she would have just outperformed me across the board."

"What happened?" Cassie asked. "I mean, you obviously became good friends, right?"

"We... became more than that," Sonya said with a warm smile Cassie didn't see often. "We became, for lack of a better term... lovers."

"Wait, what?!" Cassie blurted out. "Y-Y-You mean you used to have a girlfriend?!"

"I'm not sure I'd quite go that far," Sonya said. "I'm not sure what you'd call our relationship exactly. Our competitiveness and rivalry blossomed into a sort of friendship and then I realized that after a long time of trying to distance myself from others I grew to like her company. We grew closer still and... and realized that in that mutual attraction to each other that we could... help each other..."

Sonya began to become strangely awkward as Cassie looked at her sideways. The older woman actually blushed as she looked at her daughter.

"Let's just say that we... spent time together, helping each other relieve certain... stresses," Sonya told Cassie in no less an awkward manner. Cassie's eyebrows raised in response.

"I think I get it," she said, blushing herself now at the thought that her mother actually engaged in lesbian sex in the past. "No need to explain any more."

"Good," Sonya said with relief. "Sometimes you need an outlet to meet your needs with no strings attached. Needless to say, at the time she was just what I needed. I probably would have burned out completely if it hadn't been for Bridgette. And she also taught me a lot."

"What was she like?" Cassie asked. "I mean, her personality?"

"We were a lot alike," Sonya admitted, leaning against one wall casually with her arms crossed. "But also different in other ways. We both had the same drive and passion to be the best and push ourselves to the limit. That's why we clicked. But she was also more carefree than I was by a long-shot. I was serious and stuck-up in a lot of ways, but she wasn't beyond cracking a joke and having some fun. It wasn't all business with her. She could even get me to laugh now and then, though I didn't really join in with her less serious activities directly."

"I can see why you got along," Cassie said. "She sounds a little like... well... a female version of dad."

The mention of Sonya's late husband and Cassie's father had a noticeable impact on the General, as her once happy expression faltered for a moment. She sighed and looked out the widow again briefly before shaking her head and smiling again.

"I guess," Sonya said. "Though I'm not sure your father was every quite as serious and dedicated as Bridgette was. She was not quite as flippant and jokey as him."

Sonya looked directly as Cassie and an even warmer look came across her face.

"Actually, you remind me of her in a lot of ways," Sonya told her daughter with genuine affection. "I always liked to think of you as inheriting the best aspects of both myself and your father. She was kind of like that: some aspects of her were like mine, and others were similar to your dad's. She knew when to be all-business and when it was time for a joke."

"What happened to her in the end?" Cassie asked reluctantly. "I don't want to open old wounds, but I have a suspicion there's a reason why I haven't heard of her until now."

"Your assumptions are correct," Sonya admitted with a sad nod. "She lost her life in the line of duty. I wasn't there when it happened though. In fact, we hadn't seen each other for over two years when I found out. She was transferred to the Europe Marine Corps Forces while I stayed here in the States. I found out through the grapevine about a month after it happened. It's funny how much the news hurt even though our relationship was never really meant to be that personal. I missed her for a time after that, for some reason then rather than when she'd left two years before hand. But I got over it and moved on."

"I'm sorry," Cassie said. "Losing people is never easy."

"That's probably what Jacqui was afraid of," Sonya said. "Keep that in mind."

Cassie frowned as she thought about it but then something else tickled her curiosity. "Mom. Why did you tell me that story?" she asked. "It wasn't just to give a perspective on loss. You could have... mentioned Dad to do that."

"You're right," Sonya said with a broad smile. "I'm telling you because I want you to understand that I know what it's like to love another woman. Like you love Jacqui."

"Mom, I-" Cassie began in defense.

"Shut up!" Sonya interrupted, partially serious and also joking. "There's no sense in denying it. I'm not disappointed or annoyed. Jacqui is a fine woman for you to be interested in."

Cassie silently gave her mother a look. She knew there was more to come so there was no sense in stopping it or going on about something else.

"But it's not mutual, is it?" Sonya stated. Cassie just shook her head. "You're just going to have to accept that."

Cassie looked downtrodden. Right now she reminded Sonya of how she was as a little girl when she couldn't have her way. Sonya smiled warmly at her daughter and continued speaking.

"However, there was still more to my story," General Blade said hopefully. "You see I also had a similar experience a year and a bit after hearing about Bridgette's death. I developed feelings for another woman who was part of my team. The thing was, she wasn't gay. She had no interest in women whatsoever. She even had a husband as it turned out. He was a stay-at-home dad who took care of their child. They'd visit now and then. It was hard to be infatuated with somebody unreachable like that."

"I can't imagine you being infatuated with somebody like a schoolgirl with a crush," Cassie said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well... that's why this is confidential and never leaves this room," Sonya warned with a wink. "The point is, I found ways to deal with it. And I want to pass that onto you."

"I hope you're not talking lots of ice cold showers?" Cassie asked with a shudder.

"No. I'm talking about finding another outlet for your pent-up energy," Sonya said. "That's what I did. I decided to double my sparring with the other marines. Whenever I felt those feelings for her I channeled them into aggression and then took that aggression out on my fellow marines, all in a unharmful and military-approved manner. It helped be become a better fighter overall."

"But I already spar with everybody here at some point or another," Cassie said.

"Do it more," Sonya countered. "When you've got a free moment and you're feeling... y'know, you take that frustration and energy and direct it into kicking some ass in hand-to-hand combat. Trust me, it'll really help."

"I guess I could try it," Cassie said reluctantly. "I'm not sure though."

"I'll tell you what, I'll help you out personally," Sonya said. "I'll spar with you."

"What, really?" Cassie asked with genuine surprise. "Do you have the time to just drop everything and fight with me on a whim?"

"I'll make the time," Sonya said earnestly. "It'll be just like when I first started getting you into hand-to-hand combat. Except you've come a long way since then so it'll be more advanced. When was the last time we even fought each other?"

"Back on Shang Tsung's island when I was under the influence of that nasty Blood Code," Cassie answered grimly. "Not sure if that counts."

"I'll try to be more gentle this time," Sonya said. Cassie smiled back with a slight chuckle.

"Thanks... Mom," Cassie said with a slightly embarrassed blush. "It means a lot to me that you're willing to help me through this."

"I'm always here for you, Cassie," Sonya said warmly. "Don't ever forget that."

"I won't," Cassie nodded.

"Good. Then I'll see you in my gym at zero five hundred hours tomorrow morning for our first session."

"Zero five hundred?!" Cassie exclaimed.

"You should be up by then anyway," Sonya told her firmly. "Nothing like an early morning spar to get the blood pumping for the rest of the day. It'll do wonders for you, trust me."

"Okay then," Cassie agreed reluctantly.

"Good. Dismissed!" barked Sonya, the mother suddenly gone and the general back in full force. Cassie saluted then proceeded to the main door, unlocked it, and then left. She figured she'd have a hot chocolate and hit the sack early that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Cassie groaned with annoyance before slamming her hand down upon the 4:30am alarm she had set for herself. She was used to getting up early by most people's standards, since being part of Special Forces meant an early start to every day. But 4:30 in the morning just seemed obnoxious to the Cage girl. Her mother was supposed to be helping her out with her current frustrations, but this just seemed like an additional one to Cassie right now. General Blade insisting on this at such a time seemed contrary to the original advice in Cassie's mind. Her mother had told her to use the sparring as a means of working off excessive sexually-frustrated energy when she was experiencing it, but then just arbitrarily gave Cassie an annoying an arbitrary time to kick things off. Cassie wasn't feeling sexually frustrated now, she was just tired and frustrated that her mother made her get up so early.

Cassie got out of bed and decided to stop feeling sorry for herself. There was no sense in showering because she was just going to work up a sweat, but she applied some deodorant instead so she was at least a little fresher to start off with. Cassie usually slept in her panties and a tank top, so she simply went to her footlocker and retrieved her usual gym gear. Her plain white tank top was discarded and replaced with a sky blue sports bra while upon her lower half she slipped on a pair of tight black three-quarter gym pants, with white letters spelling her first name running up the sides. Finally she pulled on a pair of white and blue sneakers that she used for training often, then she made her way to her mother's mini gymnasium. Being essentially in charge here, Sonya got her own private gym away from her subordinates. Cassie hadn't used it personally for a long time and usually worked out with the others in the main gym on the base, but she was happy to have a little privacy away from her colleagues this time.

Cassie walked in to see a familiar figure across the room doing some warm up stretches, her back mostly to the younger newcomer. Sonya was not wearing her usual military attire of course, instead being clothed in a green sports bra not unalike Cassie's one, with matching green tights under a small pair of black briefs. She also had her hair tied back into a ponytail and wore some plain white gym shoes. Cassie couldn't remember seeing her mother dressed like this very often in person, but she remembers some photographs of her mother dressed like this when she was about her age, around the time that Sonya met her father. Cassie couldn't help but admire her mother for a moment as she looked on, as the woman was still in incredible physical shape despite her age. In fact from this angle you could easily have thought it was a woman closer to Cassie's own age rather than a middle-aged one. Cassie smirked before finally speaking to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry young lady. I was here to meet my mother for an early morning workout," Cassie said slyly. "The college gym is about five miles that way."

Sonya turned around with a wry smirk on her face too as she regarded her smug daughter. "Smart ass," she said with a slight chuckle. "What are you sucking up for? Hoping to get some extra leave soon?"

"I'm not sucking up," Cassie defended. "Though not having to get up at four thirty in the morning would be nice," she added with a fake yawn.

Sonya raised an eyebrow at her and gave her daughter a small shake of the head. "Uh-huh," she answered sarcastically.

"But seriously, Mom... you look great for a woman of seventy," Cassie added, topping it off with a wink. Sonya gasped.

"You little bitch!" she chided with a chuckle of feigned disbelief. "You know I'm still your commanding officer, Sergeant Cage. Comments like that will get you doing a thousand laps every morning for a year."

"Between whose thighs?" Cassie asked, not missing a beat. "Choose the right girl and I might just want to get in trouble." A slight pause. "That new redhead who got transferred a couple of weeks ago looks pretty tasty for example."

"Well," Sonya answered with a slight blush but a bit of a chortle too. "Aren't we becoming bold with our sexuality now?"

"You know now," Cassie answered with a casual shrug. "Might as well just roll with it."

Cassie closed the distance and put a hand on her mother's shoulder, looking at her earnestly. "Besides... you opened up to me about your, how shall we say... similar tastes in the past."

"Fair enough," Sonya said. "I'm kind of relieved that I found a way to tell you actually. It feels somewhat... liberating. To both get it off my chest after all this time, but also to share it with you."

"I know what you mean," Cassie smiled back. "I kind of feel the same myself after yesterday. Before then I didn't know what you'd think. It's cool that you're not only accepting of it, but that it's something we have in common."

Sonya smiled back warmly, placing her own hand now atop her daughter's. "Glad to hear."

"A question though," Cassie said, pulling her hand away and beginning to pace over to a nearby bench. Once she reached it she spun around and sat down swiftly, looking across and up at her mother with an almost childlike curiosity.

"Oh?" her mother responded when it was abundantly clear Cassie wasn't going to continue.

"It's just about dad," Cassie asked. "I'm just curious. Was he an anomaly for you? Or are you attracted to guys as much as girls?"

"I never really thought about it too hard," Sonya admitted in a manner that was both quicker and more casual than Cassie expected. "That's pretty much it... I guess. I've been attracted to both girls and guys in the past. I guess I am, what's the term... bisexual?"

Cassie nodded and Sonya shrugged.

"That's pretty much it then," she said. "I never really thought about it too much because I was so focused on trying to be the best marine I could. I happened to become attracted to Bridgette and then later other women, and then later on your father."

"That's cool," Cassie said with a nod. "I was just wondering. I kind of only really like girls personally. Just F.Y.I."

"Good to know I guess," Sonya said in a slightly awkward manner that hinted that perhaps she thought her daughter was being rather too casually forthcoming with her sexuality. "Was that all you wanted to ask?"

"Yep, that's it," Cassie said, bouncing onto her feet and then taking a ready-stance. "Let's fight."

"Sure you don't want to do some stretches first?" Sonya asked as she got into position herself.

"I'm good," Cassie said casually, and then she smirked. "I'm not an old woman," she added playfully.

"Oh yeah?" Sonya said back confidently. "We'll see how smug you are when this 'old woman' kicks your ass."

The two women circled each other for a while before Cassie made the first strike with her arm, which Sonya deftly dodged. This happened two more times before Sonya blocked the next with her arm, then she did a leg sweep to trip Cassie. The younger woman flipped backwards and up onto her feet, then began to counter-attack. Sonya praised her daughter whenever Cassie caught her off-guard, and would constructively criticize her when she didn't take advantage of clear openings or fell for feints or traps. The two sparred for the next hour fairly solidly, mostly employing kicks, leg-sweeps and punches rather than any grappling. Both women were starting to wane about ten minutes after the hour mark, as Sonya knocked the wind out of Cassie after twirling around to avoid a botched kick.

"Let's call it a day," Sonya said as she helped Cassie up to her feet. Her daughter laughed.

"You're just saying that now because you wanted the final blow," Cassie joked.

"I said it because I have work to do," Sonya stated plainly. "As will you soon."

"Y'know sometimes it's really annoying to not be ably to sarcastically say 'yes mom' like the others get to because you literally are my mother," Cassie said wryly.

"Hit the showers, Sergeant," Sonya retorted. "I want you fresh and ready for duty by zero seven hundred."

"Yes General," Cassie said with a casual salute and she started heading towards the door.

"You can use my private shower, Cassie," Sonya said in a friendlier manner. "It'll be quicker."

"You sure?" Cassie asked, stopped in her tracks. "What about you?"

"I can wait until your done," Sonya answered. "Just don't take too long."

"Hey... gotta make the most of warm water while I can," Cassie said with a wink, disappearing into the bathroom.

"The communal showers are not cold like a nineteen thirties prison and you know it!" Sonya called back to her daughter. She heard the sound of water starting to run.

"They're lukewarm at best," Cassie called back loudly. There was a brief pause before Sonya heard a reaction. "Oooh! Non-cheap, bulk order shampoo!"

"Yes. You can use some," Sonya droned back as she rolled her eyes.

"I already am," Cassie's voice called back. "It smells so nice. Not like melted tar at all."

"The communal shampoo does not smell like tar and you know it!" Sonya retorted.

Cassie didn't return, but Sonya could hear her daughter humming along to one of her favorite tunes. She couldn't understand how Cassie could sometimes listen to her music so loud that even with her ear buds in Sonya could sometimes hear it. She smiled to herself though, thinking it was kind of nice to be spending more time with Cassie like this and for them both to let their hair down a little. It had seemed so long since they'd acted like family for more than a few seconds. The defeat of Shinnok and death of Johnny had brought them closer for a few weeks after the events, but then it was back to duty for both of them and they'd both pretty much seemed to focus almost entirely on said duty during the following months. It was like after their initial grieving of Johnny neither wanted to bring up the issue. In both trying to get over it and move on, the two had seemed to drift apart in the process. Sonya figured that Johnny was the thing that most linked them together as family and as such trying to put him behind them had resulted in them drifting apart somewhat.

But now they had new common ground, or at least had a new realization about it. With this newfound revelation and connection between them Sonya hoped that perhaps she and her daughter could bond again and be more of a family for each other. Sonya was fiercely independent, but she was also tired of being alone. Sure she and Johnny had drifted apart over the years, but there was something comforting about the notion of him still being out there somewhere, even if he wasn't always around and a constant presence. Now she didn't have that, and Cassie was the only family left in her life. Sonya felt that perhaps in helping Cassie deal with her own personal issues with Jacqui, she could bring them closer in the process. Sonya's thoughts were interrupted by another outburst from her bathroom.

"Oh my God!" Cassie's voice rang out, and then there was a cheeky and mocking laugh. "What's this you have hiding behind the conditioner, Mom?!"

A confused Sonya thought for a moment before realization hit her and her heart jumped in shock and horror. "Shit!" she uttered under her breath just before another teasing laugh sailed out the bathroom door.

"Looks like you've got a little friend hiding here," Cassie said. "He's all firm and rubbery. Though... on closer inspection he's not that little..."

"I hope you're not playing with that," Sonya called out, both annoyed and humiliated at the same time.

"Not in the same way I assume you have been," Cassie laughed back. "Let me guess... he's a special infiltration unit of yours?" A pause. "Really good and going in deep and performing an inside job?"

"Cassie!" Sonya barked back.

"I'm sure he's good at pumping his target until he gets what he wants," she answered.

"Cassandra Carlton Cage!" Sonya yelled with flushed cheeks. "Just put the... the..."

"Dildo?" Cassie finished mockingly.

"Yes, the dildo!" Sonya growled back. "Just put the dildo away, finish your shower and report for duty!"

"Yes ma'am," Cassie answered.

The tone of her daughter's voice told Sonya that her daughter was complying but still amused and trying to fight it. As annoyed and embarrassed as Sonya was, the General couldn't help but laugh herself a little on the inside. She could totally understand why her daughter had acted the way she had given the circumstances and could hardly blame her. About a minute later Cassie stepped out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel with her loose wet hair plastered against her skin. She smiled awkwardly at her mother, blushing slightly.

"Sorry about that Mom," she said sheepishly. "I shouldn't have made fun. It's hard to resist sometimes."

"That's your father's traits right there," Sonya said mockingly with sarcastic disapproval. "He never did know when to let something slide. Always had to be the smart ass."

"I guess the joke is on me though, as I didn't bring any spare clothes," Cassie said. "Wasn't expecting to be using your shower and my gym gear is all sweaty."

"Maybe I should confiscate the towel to teach you a lesson," Sonya joked. "You might just beat a new speed record at this place with how fast you could get to your quarters naked."

"You wouldn't?" Cassie asked, mostly confident that her mother was speaking in jest, but with a slight hint of doubt in her voice.

"Thankfully I have better judgment than you do," Sonya said. "You can keep the towel. Though I expect it washed and returned next sparring session."

"Deal," Cassie agreed. "It's still early. If I'm lucky I can make it back without anybody noticing me in just a towel anyway."

"Dismissed Sergeant," Sonya said with a smile.

"Yes ma'am," Cassie said before scuttling towards the main door out. Before she made it however, Cassie almost dropped some of the gym clothing bundled in her arms. As she fumbled around to secure it the towel tucked at her back came loose and the material parted, giving Sonya a full view not only of her daughter's bare back and thighs, but baring Cassie's buttocks as well. As Sonya looked on she was hit by a brief moment of shock at the sight, and on a subconscious level she didn't then realize she enjoyed it. In the moment that it happened it didn't really register to Sonya that she was looking at her own daughter, the only thing that sparked initially was that she was looking at a very attractive female figure's exposed rear portions.

"Shit!" Cassie exclaimed. "Uhh... Mom! A little help?"

Sonya snapped out of the slight daze she didn't realize she had been in and approached Cassie. "Of course," she said. "Can't have your rear exposed. That's just common tactics."

Sonya reached out and pulled the two edges of the towel back together, tucking them back in at Cassie's shoulder blades to cover her daughter's back up once more. For a brief moment the sweet shampoo scent of her daughter's freshly washed hair tingled her nose and she again subconsciously enjoyed a sensation as some of her fingers stroked across Cassie's smooth shoulder skin. As Cassie looked back of her shoulder at her mother and thanked her, the briefest wisp of a memory tugged gently at Sonya's mind. For a split second instead of her daughter's face Sonya swore she saw Bridgette's, but with one blink reality set in once more.

"You're... welcome, honey." Sonya's response seemed to almost have a question mark at the end of it.

"Honey?" Cassie repeated with a snort at the end. "Well, aren't we getting all soft now?"

Sonya snapped back to reality, not even sure why she was feeling slightly lightheaded and dreamlike. "There's nothing wrong with a little softness now and then," Sonya defended. "Just don't get used to it. You should appreciate it during those rare instances when you can."

"Fair point," Cassie said. "Thanks again, Mom. I'll see you at seven."

"Indeed. As you were Sergeant."

Cassie continued her way to the door, opening it gracelessly as she arrived. She was about to disappear from Sonya's sight as the door began closing behind her, but the door stopped and Cassie peeked her head out between the edge of the door and the frame. "Oh! One last thing?"

"Yes?" Sonya asked, slightly impatiently. She was looking forward to getting a shower herself and Cassie seemed to keep delaying her.

"Any chance, being in charge and all, that you could make those things regulation for the female soldiers on base? They'd be good for morale."

Cassie had jerked her head in the direction of the bathroom door and then winked. It took Sonya a little longer than it should have to work out exactly what Cassie was talking about, and when she did she frowned with the slightest hint of a blush.

"Dismissed Sergeant," General Blade growled back with a shake of her head.

Cassie let out an unusually high-pitched cheeky giggle that was soon muffled by the door after it clicked swiftly behind her. Sonya shook her head again in the door's direction as her daughter's laughter faded from her ears and let out a sigh, but then smiled to herself. Cassie definitely was her father's daughter.

Sonya retired to her bathroom and proceeded to peel the green and black clothing from her sweaty skin, discarding it in a heap on the floor. She stepped into the shower and turned it back on, sighing contentedly at the feeling of the still warm water running over her skin and starting to wash the sweat away. She pushed her face forward and up so that the water from the showerhead was running directly against it, then casually reached over to grab the shampoo bottle from the nearby stand. As her fingers wrapped around the object that would be where the shampoo normally was, Sonya was surprised instead to feel a much softer, more rubbery object in her grasp instead of the harder plastic of the bottle she expected. She pulled her face from the water stream and looked at the object she now held, smirking at the neon pink dildo. Looking at the shelf it seems that Cassie had deliberately left it front-and-center and pushed the shampoo to the back where the sex toy would normally be.

Sonya began to put the object back on the shelf with the intention of switching it for the shampoo, but images and memories flashed through her mind again. First the fully exposed back of a pleasing and naked female shape from head to toe, and then the face of a former lover from her younger years.

"Bridgette," Sonya whispered breathily with her eyes closed. "How long has it been?" she added regretfully.

Sonya opened her eyes and directed them back at the object still in her hand. Deep down something in her stirred and she felt that she needed to answer it. After all, it would be hypocritical of her to ignore her own needs and desires while she had begun to try and encourage Cassie to deal with hers. But that said she did already just spar with Cassie only moments ago. The whole point of that was to redirect and work off such pent up energy, and yet despite that now she herself was having these urges. Why was so aroused now after the workout still?

"You're over thinking this Blade," a voice within Sonya's head chastised her. It sounded exactly like her own voice. "Just do what you want to do."

Sonya smiled to herself as she decided to obey her own inner voice, and she moved the object between her legs while her free hand moved up to one of her breasts. Sonya lubed up the toy by stroking it across her nether regions for a while first, twisting her nipple between her thumb and forefinger as she cast her mind back to intimate times she shared with Bridgette. As her thoughts and memories became more carnal, Sonya stopped teasing herself while coating the dildo and twisted it around to slide it inside herself. Sonya dropped the f-bomb as the tip of the object made contact with her clit then she quickened her pace, bringing herself to climax fairly soon. When the peak was reached, Sonya leaned back against the wall of the shower and slid herself down onto the bench seat that occupied the lower half of the shower. With flushed cheeks and a contented look of satisfaction upon her face, Sonya removed the toy and just sat there for a while. It was only after thinking about things in the aftermath of it that something occurred to Sonya that disturbed her slightly.

"That... that was Cassie," Sonya said to herself.

It finally clicked that for some reason she hadn't really noticed until now that it was her daughter's naked back and bottom being exposed to her that somehow triggered this all. While she had remembered and reflected on moments of passion with Bridgette and had thought that she had imagined a moment with her former lover in the past, it had been triggered by a similar occurrence with Cassie just moments ago. Things became more clear: the incident with Cassie had triggered a somewhat parallel memory Sonya had when she and Bridgette had first started to become close. In fact, it was the moment that the other woman had first enticed Sonya into making love to her.

They had both been alone in the showers, having both been forced to do some extra laps around the base for being smart asses. Or more accurately, Bridgette had done that and Sonya had got roped into it and had also been punished. The two had already been growing close and it just seemed like both were waiting for the other to make the first move. After they'd had their showers following the extra laps they'd had to run, Bridgette was about to leave when her towel came loose, much like Cassie's had just earlier. Sonya went to help as per the girl's request much like she did with her daughter, and Bridgette looked back over her shoulder to thank Sonya, but that's where the similarities ended. Sonya had still been showering when she assisted Bridgette so when she went to help her friend she was dripping wet and naked. Bridgette not only noticed this, but as Sonya would find out about an hour after the incident, she had actually planned it. At the time Bridgette feigned being surprised by Sonya's nakedness, but also acted incredibly aroused. She dropped her gear and turned around to kiss Sonya, pressing up against her. As they made out for the first time, Bridgette pushed Sonya back towards the shower stall, then removed the towel that Sonya had just fixed for her before they both had sweaty, passionate sex in the shower stall.

As the memory faded, Sonya blushed again and felt a little queasy in her stomach. It didn't feel right to her to now realize that the sight of her exposed daughter had turned her on a little, even if it was due to a direct association with an actual lover of hers through a direct parallel set of circumstances. She tried to reason things out, telling herself that that's all it was. Cassie just happens to be an attractive young woman, even if she is her daughter. Bridgette was also an attractive young woman when the two of them were lovers. Sonya wasn't being turned on by the sight of her attractive daughter at all, she had merely been briefly aroused at the sight of an attractive figure because it reminded her of Bridgette. That was all.

Sonya breathed a sigh of relief, happy that she had managed to come up with a logical reason for her reaction and why it had triggered all of this. With that done, she washed off her sex toy in the still running shower before decided to clean herself up as well. She'd already wasted enough time and had work to do.


	5. Chapter 5

When not distracted by duty or others Cassie's thoughts went back to the time she'd spent with her mother recently. When her mind wandered from the sparring they'd done and drifted to that moment when she'd discovered her mother's sex toy in the shower, she figured that most daughters would be mortified at discovering something like that about their mother. They'd think it was gross to even conceive of their mother in that manner at all, but Cassie didn't feel that way. She had a different perspective entirely in fact that could almost be seen as the antithesis of that in fact. To Cassie it showed that there was more to Sonya than just being the protective imposing mother or the stern businesslike General that she had been so used to for a good portion of her life. It meant that her mother was a woman and a human being just like her, with her own wants, needs and desires, as well as her own weaknesses and problems. Cassie's mother had so often come across as more than human to the point where she often didn't exhibit her own humanity, but to Cassie such revelations put her mother in a different light. To Cassie it made her mother seem more human, and more relatable.

Cassie liked that.

She was actually looking forward to her next session sparring with her mother in fact. She didn't want to abuse the offer just by suggesting another session too early, because this was supposed to help her with a more specific problem. But it had allowed the two of them to connect on a level they hadn't done for a long time. General Blade was her boss and as such Cassie spent a lot of time with Sonya, but it rarely felt like she was spending time with her as a daughter. Cassie had a chat with Jacqui about her conduct on the previous day's mission at the end of the day, trying to make it clear that it was nothing personal and she just wanted to make sure that Jacqui trusted her judgment. It was a half-truth at best, but Cassie had to let her own hang-ups about the object of her affections die and focus purely on the practical aspects of the matter. Jacqui apologized, admitting she was out of line and didn't think clearly. She promised Cassie that she would try to not let her feelings for Takeda get in the way of her duty and that when duty called she would try to merely see him as another member of the team. She also told Cassie that she did trust her judgment and didn't mean to question it, and Cassie accepted the apology and the two hugged. The physical act of affection felt nice to Cassie, but she also felt a little bitter and told herself that she didn't want to enjoy it too much. She had to accept that that ship had sailed. Jacqui would have to remain her friend, subordinate and teammate. There was nothing beyond that, nor would there ever be.

But that didn't make it easy.

Things went fairly well over the next couple of days, but then a movie night came along. These happened every Friday night where upon a film was shown after dinner for everybody to attend. It wasn't mandatory, but Cassie and her team usually attended and this was no exception. The problem wasn't so much the movie itself, but the fact that after about twenty minutes in Jacqui and Takeda couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other. What started as the odd whisper, giggle and peck soon became more involved. It wasn't lewd or overtly inappropriate, but when Cassie was sitting beside Jacqui and out the corner of her eye she kept getting half-glimpses of the two of them being romantic it was more than just a distraction. Cassie spent almost more time glancing sideways at what was happening beside her, so much so that by the time she decided to try and shake it off and just pay attention to the movie, she was completely lost and had no idea what was going on. Eventually she'd had enough, deciding to excuse herself to the others before quietly exiting the assembly hall where it was being shown.

"Enter," General Blade called in response to the knock upon her office door and when she looked up from her paperwork a few seconds later she was surprised to see her daughter standing there wearing her workout gear with her gym bag in one hand and a towel draped over one shoulder.

"Cassie?" Sonya responded. "I thought you were watching the movie with the others?"

"I was," Cassie answered simply. "The mushy stuff was getting to me."

"I didn't know it was a romance movie," Sonya said.

"I wasn't talking about the movie," came Cassie's response. "You up for another session?"

"Give me a minute to just finish off this last report, then another five to get ready," Sonya said. "I'll meet you there."

"Nice," Cassie said enthusiastically. "And be ready for a tough fight, I'm feeling rather aggressive tonight."

Cassie left the office and entered the gym, throwing her bag into one corner before doing some stretches. Sonya walked in less that ten minutes later dressed in her workout gear and smirked at her daughter. "I thought you weren't an old woman?" she said sarcastically.

"I figured that if I follow your instructions, when I do become an old woman I'll look as good as you do," Cassie retorted.

Sonya couldn't help but blush and feel a pleasant warmth from the compliment. She was expected a more smart ass retort from her daughter rather than flattery.

"Just keep in mind I give as good as I get," the General answered as she took her position. "You warned me, and I shall be ready."

"Good," Cassie answered, also taking an aggressive stance. "Let's do this."

Sonya didn't expect Cassie to dart in as quickly as she did, and the older woman found herself narrowly dodging a right hook and then blocking a left. She retaliated against her daughter with a lunging punch that caught Cassie in the right shoulder, sending the girl back a few steps. Sonya advanced to press the advantage, but Cassie spun backwards in a swift back flip, catching the underside of her mother's jaw with the toe of her shoes and causing Sonya to stumble backwards. As Cassie advanced again her mother recovered faster than she though, delivering a quick left, then right and flowing into a more forceful left again that knocked Cassie backwards, stumbling. Cassie regained her balance and quickly blocked the two left jabs that followed, then went down on one knee to block a low blow her mother attempted with her right. Cassie feinted to make it look like she was going to back flip, but instead spun horizontally back and around to perform a reverse leg-sweep, knocking Sonya onto her back. Instead of just getting to her feet though, Sonya acted quickly and performed a rising uppercut to catch Cassie under the jaw, sending her flying backwards onto her back.

Cassie flipped onto her feet quickly, just as Sonya charged with and outstretched left arm. Cassie leaned back to dodge it, then darted forward to grab her mother's arm. She elbowed her mother under the arm to make Sonya loosen up, then when Sonya crumpled slightly from the act, Cassie forced her shoulder up under Sonya's armpit then pulled her mother up and over herself to swing her right over and slam her onto the ground. Cassie leapt into the air with the intent to come down upon her mother with an extended foot, but Sonya rolled out of the way to cause the two women to essentially switch positions. Sonya got to her feet and launched at her daughter again with her fists, but Cassie blocked all three strikes. She didn't block the surprise kick that Sonya gave her however, as Sonya balanced on one hand and delivered an upwards, angled launching kick that sent her daughter onto the air. Cassie landed on her back, but used the momentum to roll backwards and flick back up onto her feet. Sonya lunched in to follow-up on her kick, but Cassie ducked under it by leaning back, then brought her leg up to knee her mother in the stomach. Sonya stumbled backwards as she doubled up, while Cassie raised her leg up even more until it was almost pointing dead vertical. The foot came back down again atop her mother's shoulders and Sonya was knocked face-down into the mat with a loud whump.

Cassie approached her mother, but wasn't expecting her to react so quickly when she drew close. Sonya was back on her feet in a flash, grabbing both of Cassie's shoulders, one in each hand. Putting pressure on each of them she jumped up and feet-first threaded her lower torso around the right-side midriff of her daughter, snaking her legs around and up her daughter's back. Letting go of Cassie's left shoulder, Sonya wrapped both arms tightly around her daughter's upper right arm, while her legs emerged on the other side to clamp around Cassie's upper left arm. She squeezed Cassie as her daughter unwillingly seemed to wear her mother like a painful impromptu backpack, and then with a swift jerk and some directional force applied, Sonya flipped her daughter backwards and into the air, where she disengaged to land on her feet while Cassie tumbled in an ungainly mess upon the mat. Cassie got up quickly, charging at her mother, but Sonya was ready and kneed her daughter in the stomach. Cassie didn't give into the pain and just leapt forward, driving her mother backwards onto the ground and landing atop her, straddling Sonya's torso. Sonya blocked the two punched that followed with her forearms, then hooked her legs up under Cassie's armpits and catapulted her backwards and off of her.

Cassie slid across the mat, then launched herself up onto her feet by pulling her legs in close to her body and thrusting them upwards. She feinted to catch Sonya off guard with a left before striking with a right, catching her mother in the stomach. Sonya answered by flicking her leg upwards like an opening scissor blade, catching her daughter in both the upwards and downwards motion with two consecutive hits. Cassie spun around with her own kick, which missed, but she got another gut-shot in a second later with her fist, and finally a surprise vertical kick that caught her mother in the lower face and sent Sonya flying backwards on her back. When Sonya sat back up there was blood running down her chin and a fairly nasty gash on her lower lip that was the likely source. Cassie was about to attack again, but she hesitated and stopped, a sympathetic look on her face.

"Fuck!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry, Mom!"

"You weren't kidding when you said you were going to be aggressive tonight," Sonya answered, wincing as she touched the wound and looked at the red smears upon her fingertips.

"I didn't mean to be quite so... brutal there, Mom," Cassie said. "I was just so... so..."

Cassie didn't seem to be capable of finishing her own sentence, but her fists were clenched so tightly that Sonya wouldn't be surprised if they fused closed. Sonya sighed as she dabbed at her lip with a handkerchief.

"It's okay, Cassie. I know you didn't mean to seriously hurt me. And I'll be fine in a few minutes."

"I think I've got it mostly out of my system," Cassie tried to assure her mother. "We can call it a day, even if it only went for a few minutes."

"Sounds good," Sonya said with relief, but a chuckle as well. "Maybe next time we should just concentrate on holds and defensive counters rather than the more aggressive aspects of sparring."

"Agreed," Cassie said, and then there was a pause before she continued. "You weren't kidding though."

"What's that?" Sonya asked.

"You really did give as good as you got," Cassie said, rubbing at her left shoulder and wincing. "That hurt. I'm not sure how much more of that I could have taken anyway."

"Never underestimate your mother," Sonya stated confidently, delivered in such a manner that Cassie wasn't sure if her mother was being flippant or dead serious.

"Point taken," Cassie said with an awkward laugh.

"If we're done you may as well hit the showers kid," Sonya said, jerking her head in the direction of the adjoining bathroom. "I'm going to just visit the infirmary for a spell first."

"Sorry," Cassie apologized again quietly with a defensive flinch. "I'll just..."

Cassie trailed off as she pointed to her gym bag just before she grabbed it and quickly darted into the bathroom. Sonya shook her head but smiled for a moment before wincing again and swearing, then leaving the room.

It was another three days before Cassie felt the need to spar again with her mother, which was good for both of them as it gave their bruises and abrasions some time to heal since the last one. This time it was early in the morning and Cassie startled awake from another erotic dream involving Jacqui and herself. It was almost five in the morning when she woke up from the denied dream orgasm and rather than just satisfy the need with some self-stimulation she decided to was best to keep following her mother's advice and channel it elsewhere. She got up and changed into her sports bra and three-quarter pants again and went to her mother's office, but there was no answer when she knocked. Cassie figured her mother must have still been in her room given the time, so she knocked there instead. There was no answer initially, but Cassie thought she just made out the sound of a groan from beyond the door. She knocked again, a little more forceful this time.

"Yes? Who is it?" a frustrated-sounding voice answered.

"It's me Mom," Cassie said. "Sorry to bother you."

"Just a moment," Cassie heard her mother say. There was a shuffling sound and the door opened a crack few seconds later.

"Cassie?" Sonya exclaimed with a tired stare through the narrow gap. "It's five in the morning."

"I thought you said I should already be up before then," Cassie teased. "Hypocrite much?"

"You should be," Sonya answered, emphasizing the first word. "You're young and able. I'm an old woman. I still need my rest." A pause. "What do you want?"

"Got some... urges that need redirecting," Cassie answered embarrassingly. "Thought another sparring session might be in order."

"I guess I brought this on myself," Sonya said sarcastically. "Come on in then. I'll just get ready."

Sonya opened the door to let her daughter in and then closed it behind her again. The General was currently only wearing some panties and a tank top, bedding down in pretty much the same attire that Cassie did too. This didn't phase Cassie in any way as she thanked her mother and ask her how she was feeling after their last session, as this wasn't anything she hadn't really seen before. What did cause her to feel a little uneasy though was after Sonya grabbed her workout gear. As Sonya casually told her daughter that she was mostly healed up she placed her green sports bra on the bed and then without warning whipped her tank top up over her head, sending her prominent breasts bobbing free in front of her daughter. Cassie didn't know why the act caused her to feel strange and cause her eyes to be drawn there, she'd seen plenty of other breasts through the years as other woman casually dressed and showered in front of her. Military life did that. But something about this was different, and she wasn't even sure why. Was it because she was still kind of horny from that rather erotic dream? Maybe, but this was her mother she was looking at. She definitely shouldn't be enjoying the sight of her mother's naked upper torso like she had.

Cassie wrote it off as just an unexpected sight catching her off-guard in the current state she was in. It wasn't that it was her mother at all, it was just the whole "Surprise! Sudden breasts!" factor of the situation. It didn't last long anyway as Sonya pulled the green sports bra over them, hiding them from Cassie's sight. Cassie was kind of relieved, but when she saw her mother then place her tights on the bed too she decided she didn't want to tempt this rather awkward fate. Whatever it was.

"Uh... I'll let you change and meet you there," Cassie said, turning to slip out the door. "Thanks again."

Sonya didn't even get to say anything before her daughter slipped out of sight and the door clicked closed behind her. She shrugged off the awkward behavior and continued to change, while Cassie shook her head and wondered what was coming over her. What kind of creep was she for getting slightly aroused at the sight of her own mother's breasts? It didn't matter that she was still aroused and that they appeared out of nowhere, that was no way to think. Sure her mother was a very attractive woman with a great figure, especially for her age. But she was still her mother, and Cassie felt a little dirty for that moment of weakness she'd just had. Cassie figured that she needed to really work off this pent up sexual energy fast because it was starting to make her act crazy.

Sonya arrived only a couple of minutes after Cassie had and as suggested at the last session they decided to focus more on defensive holds and counters. This went a lot better and there was a lot less pain. But as the session went on Cassie started to feel a little strange and she wasn't sure why. She was largely enjoying herself and knew that she was learning a lot when it came to defensive combat techniques, and that she was also enjoying spending time with her mother. What she didn't know is that while her positive surface thoughts and feelings were telling her that she was having a good time and keeping her issues with Jacqui out of the picture, subconsciously she was enjoying the attention from her mother in a way she didn't yet realize. She definitely felt herself bonding with her mother and liked this connection they had, especially since she hadn't had many opportunities lately to spend quality time with Sonya. What she didn't fully realize though was that her body was enjoying certain sensations that the simpler mother-daughter connection was masking. The feel of her mother's breasts pressing against hers or up against her back, the firm squeeze between her mother's thighs and the gentle and soft curves of her mother's lithe and yet muscular body rubbing against her own. Cassie knew it somehow felt warm and loving to be close to her mother like this and it made her feel good, but she didn't realize the full extent of the effect Sonya's close contact was actually having.

The session lasted about an hour and a half and it left Cassie feeling strangely euphoric, and she wasn't sure why. She'd not felt this good in a long time, despite the fatigue it had caused. Two days later the two of them had another session that was much the same, and then in another three days after that they did again. It was as Cassie showered in her mother's bathroom in the wake of that last session that she was starting to wonder why she'd been feeling so good lately during these sessions. Was she just enjoying spending time with mother? They seemed to be getting along a lot better and she could feel their relationship becoming closer and closer. Something about being around her mother lately just made Cassie feel incredibly good, like she wasn't just her mother and commanding officer any more, but something more. Like a best friend as well. But deeper still. A soul mate or kindred spirit perhaps? Whatever it was, it felt great to Cassie.

The young Cage woman finished her shower and changed into the spare clothes she had made a habit of bringing with her in her gym bag now. She almost danced out of the room and smiled at her mother, saying "it's yours now" in a rather songlike fashion. "See you at training in an hour."

Cassie returned to her room with a skip in her step and a song in her voice. She began unpacking the gym bag with the intention of retrieving her sweaty workout gear for washing, but as she dug through she discovered something was missing: her sneakers.

"Shit!" she said to herself as it dawned on her. She'd left them in the bathroom when she'd had her shower, too lost in pleasant thoughts to remember to put them in the bag before she'd left. She figured she'd best go get them and darted back to her mother's bathroom.

As she approached she could hear the shower going. No doubt her mother was showering, but Cassie figured she could just sneak in, grab the sneakers and sneak out. Carefully opening the door so as not to interrupt her mother she inched in and reached towards the objects she wanted. Cassie paused though and listened, as she heard a strange sound coming from beyond the shower curtain. Cassie initially blushed as she wondered whether her mother was using the toy she'd discovered there last week, but upon more careful listening it wasn't a groan of pleasure, but more a moan of displeasure. It sounded like her mother was crying.

Cassie's heart sank and she gave up on the shoes and stepped into the bathroom fully, closing the door behind her. She heard Sonya gasp slightly at the sound of the door clicking closed and saw the silhouette of her mother's head turn suddenly towards it.

"Mom?" Cassie asked with concern.

"Cassie?!" Sonya exclaimed with shock. "W-W-What are you doing here?!"

"I forgot my shoes and came to get them," Cassie answered simply, but she instantly glossed over that fact before her mother could respond. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm... I'm not crying," Sonya defended, her usually strong voice and resolve not present. "Honey, I'm trying to take a shower. Could you-"

"Don't lie to me," Cassie interrupted firmly. "I heard you crying in there. What's wrong, Mom?"

"Nothing is wrong."

"Mom!" Cassie barked, and then her voice sounded more desperate. "Please. Please tell me. I don't want to see you upset. I'm here for you."

There was a very loud sigh from the other side and Cassie could see the silhouette of her mother let its head hit against the wall and stay there, looking downcast.

"I'm... I'm just so frustrated Cassie," Sonya said, clearly still reluctant to talk. "I'm just too stubborn and pigheaded to admit it, but... I'm so sick of... of..."

"Of?" Cassie encouraged.

Sonya started to groan and said groan gradually built up and transformed into a growl, capped off by a frustrated yell and a violet thud against the shower wall. There was a long moment of silence save for the trickle of running water for a good ten seconds, but then Sonya breathed in and out deeply and spoke again.

"These sessions we've spent together have been great," Sonya said to her daughter. "I don't want you to think otherwise. But they've been... a reminder."

"Of what?" Cassie asked.

"Of Bridgette." A pause followed. "Of your father." Another pause. "Of times when I had... somebody."

"Oh," Cassie said sadly. "I'm sorry."

"It's pathetic, isn't it?" Sonya said. She sounded both sad and agitated.

"How?" Cassie asked.

"It makes it sound like I can't be independent. That I need somebody else in order to function," Sonya said followed by a heavy exhale. "I don't. I don't need anybody. I am strong. I am a woman. I'm perfectly capable of functioning without a man or woman in my life."

"And yet you miss them both," Cassie said. "It's understandable."

"It makes me sound weak," Sonya said. There was a definite bitterness to her voice.

"Not really," Cassie answered. "Maybe you're right and you don't need somebody like dad or Bridgette in your life. You've clearly functioned for years without them at various times of your life. Dad was barely around at all in fact."

"But he was still... there," Sonya said. "Even when he wasn't around, he was there."

"My point is, just because you don't need somebody doesn't mean you'd prefer not having somebody," Cassie said firmly. "I mean... I don't need chocolate cake, but I sure as hell love having it."

Sonya at least got a slight chuckle out of her daughter's attempt to lighten the mood. "I'm glad I at least have some of your father's spirit left in you," Sonya answered warmly.

"Wanting somebody in your life doesn't make you weak Mom," Cassie said. "Having people close to us makes us stronger."

"Now you sound more like Raiden," Sonya said. "I appreciate your words, but it doesn't change the fact that both Bridgette and your father are gone now. And I never really appreciated either of them until I didn't have them any more."

"That's a fairly common mistake from what I've heard," Cassie said with a sigh. "I've often wondered whether striking more directly with Jacqui would have done anything. Did I lose her because I didn't try hard enough to get her?"

"I don't know," Sonya answered. "But you've at least got your youth. There will be other Jacqui's for you and other opportunities. Don't make the same mistake your mother did, Cassie. I'm getting old now, my best years are behind me. All my opportunities have past. You're all I really have left, and someday soon I'll lose you too. Either to the job or you being reassigned or something."

Cassie saw her whole mother's silhouette sag in defeat, but that wasn't going to sit with the Sergeant. Without a thought she stepped forward and pulled back the shower curtain. A shocked and very naked Sonya looked up and called out her daughter's name in surprise, but said nothing else as a pair of warm, caring arms wrapped around her and she felt a chin rest upon her shoulder.

"You'll always have me, Mom," Cassie said earnestly. "I'll never leave you. No matter what."

Sonya felt her heart warm as tears of joy came to her eyes to replace the ones of sadness. She hugged her daughter back and smiled. "Thank you, Cassie. I needed this. I know I almost never say this, but... I love you."

"I love you too Mom."

The two women lost themselves in the moment as they embraced under the cascading water, just enjoying the sensations. But as Cassie did so the slightly euphoric state she was in made her drift away slightly and context was washed away with it. She gave herself into the moment and forgot its intent and purpose, instead focusing on the feelings and giving into them. She felt a pair of firm, naked breasts pressing against her own, and the smooth supple skin of a woman's naked flesh as her arms and hands caressed it. Similarly a pair of arms wrapped around her back and cradled her lovingly, naked flesh pressed up against her wet clothing. Cassie sighed contentedly, this was the type of experience she had been longing for for so long. To feel another woman and press up against her, that intimate contact was so much more than tending to her own needs with her fingers as phantoms danced in her thoughts. She just wanted to press further and give into these longings, but a voice brought her back to reality and guilt and shame hit her at the same time.

"This is nice Cassie, but we'd probably best stop," Sonya said. "We've both got work to do."

Cassie felt her face flush as she pulled away, the wet fabric of her now soaked tank top clinging briefly to her mother's prominent chest before adhering to her own, the fabric almost entirely transparent now.

"See, I've made you all wet," Sonya said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah. In more ways than one."

Alarm bells rang in Cassie's head as soon as she finished the sentence. She cursed her genetics as her cheeks flushed brighter and she looked at her mother with wide and embarrassed eyes. One of the biggest problems with being her father's daughter was the broken filter. The one that used to get him in trouble and often would get her in trouble too as the mouth acted quicker than the brain and didn't always check whether the thing being said was appropriate at all. Sonya looked back in confusion at her daughter and then her eyes widened for a moment before she too seemed to blush and the look of confusion became curious suspicion.

"Cassie?" Sonya asked tentatively.

"You're right, we've got jobs to get done!" Cassie blurted out. "So I'll just grab my shoes and go! Gladthehughelpedokaybye!"

And with that Cassie blurred past the shoes, causing them to seemingly disappear before a blue and black streak zipped through the door and it clicked behind her, leaving Sonya again alone under the water. Sonya looked confused, wondering about that strange moment. Her daughter couldn't have meant what she thought she did, surely? But what else could it have meant? Had Cassie actually been somehow sexually aroused by her? By her own mother? Sonya felt flustered at the thought. Flustered and uneasy. It was so wrong, on so many levels. She must have misinterpreted? Surely? Part of Sonya was repulsed by the idea, but part of her was a little curious at the notion that at her age she could still possibly have such an effect on a young woman of Cassie's years.

Sonya turned off the water and exited the shower, catching a glance of her naked body in a nearby mirror. It occurred to her that Cassie had just been hugging her in this state. Then Sonya remembered her own parallel moment with seeing Cassie's exposed back over a week ago now. Maybe it was the same? Yes, that had to be it. Just like seeing Cassie like that had aroused Sonya briefly because it reminded her of Bridgette, similarly Cassie must have not been turned on by Sonya herself but just by the sensation of hugging a naked woman. That made sense to Sonya. That had to be it.

Didn't it?


	6. Chapter 6

Cassie looked at herself with wide-eyed disbelief in the mirror, having gone to the communal female bathrooms to splash some water on her face.

"What the actual fuck Cassie!" she said to her own reflection. "Holy shit, what the hell is wrong with you?! That was... was..."

She couldn't bring herself to say what it was. Or more specifically who it was. She disgusted herself right now and turned away from the mirror, not wanting to be sickened further by her own face. Of all the other females on this base besides Jacqui to make her aroused, why did it have to be... her of all people? And why even was it her? Sure, she was an attractive woman. Especially for her age. But she was still her... Still her...

Cassie winced again at the thought. She looked across at one of the shower stalls, wondering whether the cold shower she initially dreaded as the solution to her problems would have been the better answer. For now though she needed to just calm down and relax, and once she'd come to terms with it and settled down she might be able to talk to her again and apologize. If she could muster up the courage to face her that is. Cassie sighed, looking back at her reflection without flinching this time.

"You can face ninjas, sorcerers, abominations and your own friends twisted into undead-like monsters, but you still can't face your own mother sometimes," Cassie wryly said to herself.

Cassie didn't have much time to dwell on such matters as it wasn't just training that day, for she and her team had a mission to go on. It was a fairly standard affair involving terrorists and hostages, and the authorities involved not being willing to give in to said terrorists' demands. It was up to Cassie and her team to try and get into enemy territory without being noticed, take out who they could safely and then extract the hostages. The mission went very well too, with everybody playing their part and circumstances falling into place. At the end of it Cassie had a gun to the back of the radical leader's head, having taken him completely by surprise while the rest of her unit got the hostages to safety. With the situation under control Cassie and her team returned to base, wrote up their mission reports and got to relax for the rest of the day. At 1900 hours Cassie was called into her mother's office to give General Blade a first-hand report on the matter, and she was congratulated for a near flawless outcome.

"Dismissed Sergeant," Sonya finally said with a smile and a nod to bring the meeting to a close.

Cassie saluted and then started to turn to leave, but stopped. She let out a small sigh and faced her mother's desk again, her cheeks clearly pinker than normal. "Mom, about what happened t-"

"Quiet Sergeant," Sonya interrupted firmly. She waited until she knew Cassie was going to stay quiet and then the General continued.

"I know what you're about to bring up Cassie," Sonya said, the mother replacing the General. "And before you embarrass yourself further I think it's best that I explain the situation. Because, believe it or not, I understand."

Cassie blinked rapidly then looked confused. "You... you do?"

"I'm pretty sure I do," Sonya said as she stood up from her desk and came around to stand in front of her daughter directly. "You're not the only one this has happened to you know?"

"What do you mean?" Cassie asked somewhat suspiciously. Sonya exhaled loudly in response and then tried to make eye contact with her daughter.

"Sometimes these moments come along that cause us to... act involuntarily in ways we can't control, and we feel and do things that we wouldn't normally do if we were thinking about things clearly. They're more of a trigger of certain stimuli based on instinct than us actually doing something deliberately."

"I... I guess that makes sense," Cassie said as she looked downcast. She sounded like she was aboard with the reasoning, but still had doubts. Cassie looked back to her mother. "And this has... happened to you too?"

"Yes," Sonya said with a firm nod and then she paused in thought for a moment, as if deciding whether to be more specific. She looked at her daughter intently and could tell that in order to satisfy Cassie's curiosity and convince her she would have to elaborate. "It happened to me just last week actually."

"When? What happened?" her daughter probed further.

"When your towel came loose, and you exposed your naked butt," Sonya answered, her own cheeks reddening somewhat now too.

Cassie's eyes doubled in size, the feint pink flush beneath both eyes blooming fully into a deep crimson. "Y-Y-You mean... I... I made you..."

Cassie trailed off and Sonya tried to give her a reassuring smile, albeit an embarrassed one. "Don't misunderstand," Sonya said, placing a hand on each of her daughter's shoulders. "There's a perfectly logical and reasonable explanation."

Sonya told Cassie the tale of what happened between her and Bridgette years ago and how the parallel nature of the two events caused the more recent one to trigger feelings and reactions based on the former one. Cassie nodded in understanding, and Sonya could tell that her daughter was gradually feeling more assured and comfortable with each sentence she spoke.

"So you see, it's not your fault," Sonya summarized to Cassie warmly. "It was only natural for your body to have that reaction when we hugged, especially with what you've been going through lately. Just as it was natural for me to have a similar reaction when I saw you exposed like that with all these memories of Bridgette being rekindled. It wasn't that I wanted to... have sex with you or anything, I just had a natural reaction to seeing an attractive woman's revealed body. The fact that it was you specifically wasn't really a factor."

Cassie felt a strange queasy sensation in her stomach as her mother said that. She wasn't sure what it was because she was starting to feel reassured and believe what her mother was telling her, but to hear her mother talk about the notion of having sex with her and referring to her as attractive just sent this series of clashing and confusing emotions that went straight to her gut. It felt kind of scary and wrong, but there was this hidden something in the pit of it that was strangely thrilling. And that itself also made Cassie uneasy. Sonya must have sensed something was troubling her daughter because she seemed to react to the look on Cassie's face.

"And you can't help being attractive. Of course you are, you're my daughter after all," Sonya said with a playful wink. And then her mother's voice grew softer and more serious as she moved one hand to gently caress Cassie's cheek. "And you... you remind me of Bridgette so much."

The queasiness only got worse, so Cassie just took a single step backwards and placed one hand upon her mother's wrist where her cheek was being stroked to gently encourage it away.

"Mom. I believe what you're saying," Cassie said earnestly. "It makes sense. But... perhaps given the circumstances, we should take a break from sparring together for a while?"

"I understand," Sonya said, sounding both disappointed but also understanding the same time. "You're a little uncomfortable right now. That's understandable. Maybe you're right, we should maybe give it a rest for a week or two. Makes sense to me."

"Thanks Mom," Cassie said with a big smile, feeling better already.

"That's okay," Sonya said. "And it's amazing just what a few hours beating the hell out of a punching bag can do for you, so maybe you could still just do that to work off the frustration if you need to."

"That's a good idea. I might do just that," Cassie said.

"You're still free to use my gym if you'd prefer to be alone," Sonya told her. "It's always open to you."

"Thanks," Cassie beamed. "I think I'll take you up on that."

Things looked like they were going to be okay for the two women, and for the next five days they both just trained alone whenever they felt like they needed it. But Sonya had discovered that she'd been needing to vent in the gym at least once every day when this hadn't been an issue for her for years, as rekindled memories had become vivid dreams as well. Meanwhile, Cassie had found thumping on the punching bag to be quite fulfilling for the first couple of days, but its appeal and ability to calm her down had waned since then. For Cassie the problem had changed too, as her wanting Jacqui was gradually replaced by the notion that she was simply not going to find anybody to scratch her itch. For her it had gone from coping with dealing with an unrequited love to dealing with the lack of love as a whole. The new redheaded girl that Cassie had jokingly mentioned to General Blade before was definitely very straight Cassie had since learned, and thus any attempts to maybe start something there had been thwarted before they'd even really begin.

It was six days after mother and daughter had decided to put their sparring on hiatus that Sonya Blade wandered into her gym early one morning, only to find Cassie already there thrashing away at the suspended bag she had planned to beat the shit out of herself. Sonya quietly cursed and planned to slip out before Cassie could notice her, but her daughter stopped and smiled in her mother's direction. "Oh? Hi Mom."

Cassie stopped smiling as her eyes wandered up and down her mother's body, noticing that the good General was decked out in her green and black workout gear.

"Oh, you must be here to do this too," Cassie said. "I'll leave and let you-"

"No, it's okay!" Sonya interrupted. "You go ahead Cassie. I can wait."

"It's your gym, I'm just borrowing it," Cassie countered. "You should stay."

Sonya sighed with a lopsided smile and crossed her arms. "Look... how about we take turns?"

"That works," Cassie agreed, but she still stepped aside and signaled the punching bag with one arm. "Must be your turn then."

"Deal," Sonya said with a smile, throwing down her towel while Cassie went to get her own to dab some of the sweat from her skin.

"I don't usually see you this early in here," Cassie noted as she took a seat and squirted some water from a plastic drink bottle into her mouth.

"I had a rather... provocative dream involving Bridgette," Sonya reluctantly admitted as she thumped away. "I need to let off some steam."

"Fair enough," Cassie responded. "I had an... annoying dream. I'm mostly here to take out my anger on something rather than channel unreleased sexual energy this time."

"Mind if I ask?" Sonya said curiously.

"A certain woman with cornrows and a certain woman with red hair laughing at me," Cassie answered bitterly. "Both with their respective men and mocking me for not having anybody."

"I hope you don't think Jacqui would actually do that?" Sonya responded, sounding concerned.

"No. I know it was a dream and she's not that vain or cruel," Cassie answered. "Still doesn't mean it didn't piss me the fuck off though."

"Not surprising," Sonya said with a slight chuckle. "You always were a little hotheaded. Wonder where you got that from?"

"Yeah, I wonder," Cassie responded sarcastically.

"Your father," Sonya said with a smirk. "Definitely your father."

"You're so full of shit sometimes Mom," Cassie said, tossing her towel at her mother playfully. It landed on Sonya's head and she shook it off with a laugh.

The two took turns of roughly about ten minutes each back and forth for about an hour. Then, as Sonya finished her most recent one and Cassie walked up to give her mother her towel, she smiled at her daughter warmly and let out a sigh that could only be heard as one of disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Cassie asked curiously.

"I was just thinking how I've missed our little bouts over the last few days," Sonya said earnestly. "This may sound corny, but they had kind of become the highlights of my week."

"I know what you mean," Cassie admitted, sounding slightly embarrassed about it. "I enjoyed them. I guess it's another case of not appreciating something until it's gone again, huh?"

"Well, I don't want you to feel bad about it," Sonya said. "We'll do it again when you're more comfortable with it."

There was a moment of silence between them as they just smiled at each other before Sonya walked past Cassie to take a seat and let her daughter have her turn at the punching bag. Cassie took one step towards it but then stopped.

"Y'know... I wouldn't mind having one now," Cassie said without turning around, reluctantly but deep down just wanting to have that moment with her mother again she'd missed over the past few days.

"Are you sure?" Sonya asked and Cassie responded by looking over her shoulder at her mother and smiling with a nod. Sonya smiled back and got back to her feet.

"Good," she said confidently. "This should be fun."

The two women got into a ready-stance facing each other and then began to circle around counter-clockwise. They grappled for a few seconds before Sonya kicked the side of Cassie's left knee. When her daughter buckled slightly, Sonya rolled back to flip her daughter over and behind her. Cassie landed on her back and Sonya flipped and spun into the air, landing atop her daughter's stomach with her own, lying in perpendicular fashion atop Cassie. Sonya grabbed Cassie's right leg and pulled it up, hooking it in the crook of her arm. Cassie rolled over to her right to dislodge her mother, but as soon as she flipped over onto her front, Sonya sat on the small of her back and grabbed both of her legs, pulling them backwards and putting pressure down on them beneath her arms with downwards force. It hurt to have her mother wrenching her back like that as if to bend her in half backwards, but Cassie smiled through gritted teeth as those familiar feelings began to return to her from almost a week ago.

Cassie reached back and managed to grab one of Sonya's ankles with a free hand, which she promptly tugged. This caused Sonya to falter, giving Cassie a change to slip out from beneath her. Cassie kicked her mother in the back, causing her to pitch forward and fall face-first onto the mat, then capitalized by jumping onto her mother's back and sitting on it, where she then reached forward and grabbed her mother's head and then wrenched it back until Sonya's top half was almost vertical and at a right-angle with her lower half. As Sonya writhed the top curve of her butt rubbed against Cassie's inner thighs, and subconsciously the younger woman was enjoying the sensation. Sonya let out a growl and wrenched forward, forcing herself out of Cassie's grip. She then bucked her lower half upwards and dislodged Cassie, quickly rolling aside before her daughter could counter.

As Cassie got to her feet, Sonya leaped onto her back from behind, wrapping her legs around Cassie's thighs while hooking her arms around Cassie's elbows. Sonya then squeezed, pulling Cassie's arms back forcefully while clamping onto her legs tightly so that her daughter could barely move. The sensation was painful for Cassie, but again subconsciously she was enjoying the feeling of another pair of breasts pressed tightly against her back and a set of firm thighs wrapped around her own. She didn't know why at that point but the whole thing was strangely exhilarating, yet she tried to escape it. When she determined that her mother's grip seemed too firm, Cassie opted to bend her knees and then jump upwards before throwing her weight backwards, sending both women crashing to the floor. Sonya grunted and loosened her grip, so Cassie made an attempt to escape.

As she tried to slip away however, Sonya closed her legs again and caught Cassie, this time grasping her daughter's head between her strong thighs. Cassie made a gagging noise as the two green-clad appendages squeezed her, again secretly enjoying this at the same time. As she twisted and wrenched to pull free she wasn't aware that the proximity and close contact between her and her mother wasn't just effecting her in this manner, as Sonya tried to stifle a slight moan at the feeling of the back of her daughter's head rubbing against her crotch. Sonya was slightly more aware of how this was affecting her than Cassie was, but she didn't want to suddenly call the bout off and make her daughter uncomfortable, so she tried to ignore it and press on. Or in this case squeeze on. Cassie grabbed both of her legs and tried to pry them apart, but Sonya's grip was to strong for that.

Sonya thought her daughter was going to submit, but Cassie was not that easily defeated. Even when caught in the grasp of one of her mother's most deadly signature moves. Cassie bent her knees upwards and planted her feet firmly on the ground then pushed both upwards and against her mother. This raised her mother's lower half and Cassie's upper half about a foot above the ground, whereby Cassie quickly rotated her body position to flip them both onto their fronts. It hurt, but it worked, and then Cassie pressed herself up off the ground with her mother still attached to her, slowly rising to her feet with Sonya now on her shoulders. Sonya anticipated what was next though and quickly released herself from Cassie before her daughter could slam them both backwards onto the floor again.

Cassie went down backwards by herself, winding herself slightly in the process. Sonya quickly flipped onto her daughter's stomach, pulling up one of Cassie's legs and wrenching it upwards, and using one of her own legs to not only keep the other one down, but hooking her knee around it to deliberately push it in the other direction. Cassie resisted and in turn Sonya tried to ignore the feelings that such resistance were having on her, as she pulled one of Cassie's thighs between her legs and pressed it right into her most sensitive region. She found she had to clamp even harder, as Cassie tried to counter back. Soon both of them had each other's legs intertwined together, both trying to put each other in a leg lock. Sonya's grip was more effective though given how she was positioned, and as Cassie tried to both squeeze herself out of it while maintaining her own grip, she began to realize something.

At this point her escape and counter attempts were causing her to grind herself on her mother's legs, and she was no longer subconsciously enjoying it at all but had become fully cognizant of what was happening and the effect it was having on her. That queasy, uneasy feeling returned to her as she thought about it, but with every movement her doubts were put into question as the sensation felt so good. Every so often she also felt either resistance or offensive pressure from her mother too, and that often also felt good. Not only that, but she could swear a couple of times that she heard Sonya let out a moan that was not one of discomfort, pain or aggressive effort. She didn't want to enjoy this in this manner, and she thought about just pulling out and stopping. But then the feeling of soft yet firm thigh gliding against her nether regions would send a tingle of warm pleasurable bliss through her and she would guiltily keep going. She knew this was all kinds of wrong, but damn... if it didn't feel so good with each occurrence.

Eventually Cassie decided that she needed to put and end to this before it went too far, but she had to wait for the right moment. During a brief moment where her mother slackened her grip in the wake of another moan that sounded more pleasurable than painful, Cassie twisted around between her mother's legs. She couldn't help but let out a shuddering moan as the act sent bolts of pleasure through her, but she tried to push past it as she rotated around and leaned forward. Cassie grabbed her mother's left ankle and unhooked it from the right one, then pushed against the resistance her mother was putting up as she pushed the leg upwards, again fighting against the pleasant sensations caused as she slid herself along Sonya's other leg with each push. Eventually Cassie made it, her arms now wrapped around her mother's completely vertical left leg in a tight embrace while she knelt over the General's right one.

It would now be easy for Cassie to free herself from her mother's grasp, or at least that's how it initially seemed. But as she knelt there straddling one of Sonya's thighs while hugging the other against her body, Cassie could already feel other sensations and feelings taking over, all highly influenced from the tactile sensations between her own thighs. And she could also sense she wasn't the only one feeling this way. Her eyes drifted down her own body and her mother's vertical leg to where her throbbing sex almost met that of Sonya's, so close to each other that she could feel the heavy warmth from the older woman's crotch radiating against her own. The eyes continued their journey, traveling now across her mother's firm sweaty abdominal and up to her green-clad chest, the fabric of the tank top pulled tight across the heaving orbs as their owner panted slowly. Sonya's slender neck was next, then a chin and jaw line beneath an open mouth.

It was only a second later that Cassie's eyes met with Sonya's, locking with a subtle gasp from both women as Cassie experienced what had to be the most intense and intimate exchange of her life. As their eyes met the magnetism and strength was immediately apparent, as some mutual pull locked them together. It was so profound and reciprocal that Cassie could immediately see and almost feel that Sonya was feeling exactly the same way. She could sense the same want and desire to take that next forbidden step, and also the same fear and reluctance for what it would mean for both of them. But she could also sense these feelings were juxtaposed by the same mutual want and desire to back away before it went to far, yet the same fear and reluctance to not give into their urges and let this stimulating opportunity slip away. Cassie didn't think it was possible but their shared stare seemed to intensify further, and it was almost as if they could hear each other's thoughts, which were so in sync it was like starting into a perfect reflection of her own soul. No words were needed between them, nor seemingly wanted. It was as if both of them silently agreed that to say anything would break the spell and ruin this flawless moment they were sharing.

Simultaneously they reached their final decision. Simultaneously their already rosy cheeks bloomed ever brighter and a shiver ran through their spines. Simultaneously the slightest twinkle flared in their eyes and the corners of their mouths curved marginally upwards. Simultaneously it no longer mattered to either of them that they were mother and daughter and all such a relationship entailed, and all that mattered was the moment. This perfectly intimate and pleasurable moment of bliss, and anticipation of what was to come. And for them both to help both each other and themselves seek something special they had both longed for and had been seeking for far too long. Both of them weren't sure if crossing that unspoken line was the most insane thing imaginable or the most rational and sensible, but it no longer mattered. Just before the moment of truth came a fire burned aflame in both of their eyes, and simultaneously they both pressed forward and made that final forbidden fleshly contact between their most intimate and yearning regions.

A collective moan of absolute and unwavering sexual bliss rose up from two sources, both throwing their heads back for a few brief seconds before both locked eyes again and stared into each other's very souls. It was warm, wet and wonderful where the two joined each other, subtle spongy squelching noises joining the soft slapping of thighs and the gentle and yet urgent moans from the two women's mouths. Cassie pressed herself down and in as deeply as she could, rotating her hips slowly and rhythmically with her gaze never wavering from the almost hypnotic connection with her mother's blue orbs. Sonya similarly stared back with heated lust that overrode all common sense or seemed to even remotely acknowledge who she was doing this with, pressing her hips up and forward for maximum contact and adjusting to get the best angle for maximum exposure. Cassie moaned in pleasure as jolts of delectation danced through her deepest recesses, now caressing her mother's upright leg sensually while Sonya absent mindedly began to tease her own nipples through the thin green cloth. Deep down in their darkest thoughts both secretly begged for the tenuous layers of clothing that stopped their contact being truly direct to be gone so their most sensitive skin could truly meet.

It was only a few minutes later after solid grinding and staring that both women seemed to reach their limits. The pace increased as both felt it building within them, the groans intensified and grew higher in pitch and the magnetic gaze between the two of them grew somehow more intense as hunger and lust burned like fire within their normally ice-blue eyes. Then, simultaneously once again, both women were pushed over the edge and let out a primal scream, their shared stare finally broken again as their heads flew backwards. The forbidden contact between them was severed, both collapsing backwards as sweat poured down their faces and more personal fluids trickled down their thighs. Both women panted on their backs for a few moments, then they both looked up and across at each other. Looks of shame, guilt and embarrassment washed across both faces, and it was oddly silent in the gym. While they seemingly couldn't break eye contact during the deed, now both women quickly looked away as if it burned each of them to see the other.

"Well..." the older of the two finally broke the silence with tentatively. "I think that's enough for now."

Cassie looked sheepishly up at her mother, who was now getting to her feet. She was shocked to see that Sonya now wore her standard "General face" and didn't seem to look shamed at all any more.

"Thank you for the practice, Sergeant," Sonya said formally, like nothing had happened. "I suggest you hit the showers and clean up in time for training."

Cassie noticed that her mother jerked her head in the direction of the communal showers rather than the bathroom right next door. The younger woman's brow furrowed.

"Mo... Mom?" Cassie asked bewilderedly.

"You heard me Cage," Sonya said and she clapped her hands. "Chop chop! You've got work to do today, Sergeant."

Cassie got to her feet and grabbed her things, giving her mother one final confused look before making her way to the door. Just before she left she saw Sonya grab her own towel and head towards the bathroom, disappearing through the door before the sound of rushing water started up. Cassie wasn't even totally sure what had just happened between them, but she was even more confused with how her mother had reacted. Sighing hopelessly, Cassie made her way to the communal showers quickly, hoping she could get herself cleaned up and then get to the laundry before anybody could smell what she'd just been doing.

With her mother.

Cassie's stomach twisted in discomfort again and the normally strong Cage girl couldn't help but whimper slightly and let a tear form.


	7. Chapter 7

Cassie was distracted for the rest of the day with constant thoughts of what happened that morning in the gym. There were so many mixed emotions and feelings. So many questions she wasn't sure she wanted the answers to, yet she longed to discover them. Even during more lucid periods when she had to interact with others she merely pushed the thoughts aside, only to have them return to priority one as soon as said interaction was done. She often went into autopilot with everything else, not really paying attention to it as the encounter dominated her thoughts. She'd find she'd have moments where she'd suddenly realize she was somewhere or that she'd just done something with no real memory of how it happened. Gradually throughout the day she tried to piece together the puzzle that was her intimate encounter with her mother. Not just an intimate encounter in fact, but an overtly sexual one. Confusion gave way to revelation as she went over the key moments she and her mother had shared over the past couple of weeks and Cassie didn't know how to take the conclusion she'd come to. There was no other explanation, but it was so wrong. How could this have happened? Cassie felt flushed at the thought of it all, her stomach twisting and yet her heart fluttering and a strange warmth and excitement spreading throughout her.

Cassie had to speak with her mother about this. She dreaded it, but it had to be done. It was the last step for Cassie to get this off her chest, no matter what the outcome was. When all tasks for the day were done she approached her mother's office door, and after steeling herself for whatever was to come she knocked on the door.

"Enter," came a stern response.

Cassie opened the door and it wasn't until it clicked close behind her that General Blade looked up from her paperwork at the newcomer. Sonya narrowed her eyes slightly at her daughter and then she shook her head, closed her eyes and sighed loudly. "I knew you'd eventually come before the day was out," she said.

"It wouldn't be the first time I've come for you today," Cassie said dryly, yet also in a somewhat disquieting manner.

"Please," Sonya responded as she held up one hand, seeming to wince slightly while also blushing. "Don't... make this more awkward than it already is."

"Can't be worse than how you reacted afterwards," Cassie said. She sounded more than a little bitter.

"Look," Sonya started firmly as she looked back at her daughter's face, frowning slightly. "This is all quite straightforward and simple. You're reading too much into things."

"Do tell," Cassie said, crossing her arms defiantly and jutting out one hip. She had to hear this one. She sounded angry, but she was on the verge of tears.

"This morning we just... helped each other out with a mutual problem," Sonya explained unwaveringly. "That's all it was. There was nothing emotional or personal about it. It was just two women sorting out a very primal need for each other to mutual benefit." A pause. "That's it."

"Bullshit!" Cassie growled back, slamming her hands down upon her mother's desk as she leaned down and in towards her.

"I'm sorry if my attitude in the wake of it upset you Cassie," Sonya said earnestly. "I may have come across as suddenly... cold. But there was no sense in pretending that it was anything more than it was: an outlet."

Cassie narrowed her eyes and looked at her mother's facial features carefully. "I don't believe you," the younger woman eventually stated.

"I don't care what you believe," Sonya countered. "It's the truth, whether you choose to accept it or not."

"Are you honestly trying to tell me that you felt... nothing about what happened between us?" Cassie said, clearly disbelieving her mother's claims.

"Physically, yes," Sonya admitted. "Emotionally. No."

"But I am your daughter," Cassie huffed with frustration.

"Which is precisely why what happened was nothing more than what I said it was," Sonya said. "All I did was help you, as you helped me. That's it." She paused. "Anything more than that would be incredibly wrong."

And there it was. Cassie had almost been convinced by her mother that her feelings had been completely one-sided. Sonya had managed to keep up her usual, unwavering stone-cold stare of seriousness that was usually an unbreakable wall of defense until then. But just after Sonya finished that last sentence, Cassie saw the subtlest hint of doubt briefly flash in her mother's eyes. It was so brief and elusive that it would have been all but impossible to detect if Cassie hadn't been studying Sonya so intently. Cassie's heart skipped a beat, and she gasped on the inside if not externally. It took her brain a few moments to decide how to proceed.

"No," Cassie said softly, confidence creeping into her voice for the first time since she'd entered the room. "You and I shared something special this morning. We connected on a deeper level than we've ever done before."

"You're being delusional," Sonya retorted. There was a brief moment of hesitation from the General, but Cassie noticed it. She also noticed the turning point: her mother was on the back-foot now.

"I'm not," Cassie said slowly, but more sure than ever. "I felt a special connection with you. And you felt it too."

She leaned in closer to her mother across the desk, causing Sonya to lean back in her chair defensively.

"You can't deny it. It was a bond so strong it was like our thoughts were totally entwined together."

"This isn't healthy Cassie," Sonya said. "You're imagining things. Seeing things that aren't there based on your own... problems and frustrations." She shook her head. "We should never have done that together."

"And yet we did," Cassie said with no shame at all. "And it was... wonderful."

"Cassie, I am your mother," Sonya said in a manner that was both firm and understanding. "If I was almost anybody else it probably would be wonderful, but that's not something that mothers and daughters should do together. Even when it's just to help each other out like we did."

"That doesn't make it any less special," Cassie said warmly as she leaned back off the desk and slowly started walking to her left. "Perhaps it makes it even more special."

Cassie rounded the desk and kneeled before Sonya as her mother turned around in her chair to face her daughter. The younger woman took the older one's hands in hers and held them to her chest. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too Cassie," Sonya said with a small smile, but worry in her eyes. "But that doesn't change the facts."

"No, you don't understand," Cassie said as she blushed slightly. She looked away for a moment before gazing back into her mother's eyes. "I mean... I love you." The blush deepened. "As in... I'm in love with you."

Cassie had done it. She'd let her mother know how she felt about her. The simple and yet also deep answer to the questions about her feelings that had plagued her most of the day. She was in denial as the revelation first hit her, but the more she thought about it, as wrong as it was it all made sense. The pieces all fit, even if it revealed a rather contentious image in the process. Cassie carefully observed her mother's face as she reacted to the bomb she'd just dropped: first Sonya's eyebrows raised and she blinked rapidly. Her own cheeks began to flush and her mouth open and closed like that of a goldfish's as she tried to find words, but came up short. She eventually shook her head very slowly before she finally managed to elicit a response.

"That's... that's crazy honey!"

"No Mom, it's not," Cassie said earnestly. "It's true. For the past few weeks, with this time we've been spending together and growing closer, I've felt better when I've been with you than I ever have before. At first I didn't know what it was, but the more time we spent together and the more we bonded, the more I gradually came to fall for you. You're everything I've ever wanted from a woman, and you were there the whole time. And when we looked into each other's souls this morning I felt a connection greater and deeper than merely mother and daughter, or than a soul mate. It was... transcendent! I spent all day thinking about it, and when the truth finally came and I realized my feelings for you, it was so crystal clear and obvious. It was like some great weight had lifted off my shoulders."

Sonya's expression seemed to soften at her daughter's confessions and she began to raise a hand towards Cassie's face, only to stop and jerk it back as she looked away from her daughter.

"You must be mistaken," Sonya said in almost a mutter. "You can't have those feelings for me. It's... impossible."

"It's not!" Cassie said adamantly. "Fuck! Why won't you believe me?!"

"Let's say I do," Sonya said. "What does that change Cassie? It's not like we can... can be together!"

"Why the hell not?!" Cassie asked frustratedly.

"Because I am your mother!" Sonya said as if the point were the most obvious in existence. "We can't be in a relationship like that. It's wrong, Cassie! I gave birth to you... raised you from a baby..." She sighed and shook her head then looked up at her daughter. "You're talking about incest."

"I'm aware of that," Cassie said. "I don't care. I love you. We wouldn't be hurting anybody. It's not like we're going to create some kind of inbred children or anything. What's the harm in a relationship like that?"

"What would people say?!" Sonya blurted out. "What of our careers?"

"They don't have to know," Cassie said simply. "It would be our secret."

"That's a big chance to take," Sonya said.

"It'd be worth the risk... for you," Cassie answered, looking at her mother lovingly. "I love you that much. The only reason for me not to see this through is for you not to feel the same way about me."

"Well then it's settled," Sonya said quickly. "Because I don't."

"I don't believe you," Cassie answered. She wasn't phased by Sonya's rejection at all, because she was confident it was lies. "Not after this morning."

"I already explained that," Sonya said with a frown, but also blushing more.

"I don't mean how we got each other off," Cassie said almost too casually. "I mean that moment we shared just before hand. The one I mentioned before. You must know what I mean, you experienced it too."

"Cassie I... I think you may be... reading too much into that," Sonya answered. She was clearly flustered through, and couldn't seem to come up with a firm defense on the matter. "I'm not denying that it was... special-"

"So it _was_ special to you?" Cassie interrupted, leaning closer to her mother.

"Yes, it was," Sonya admitted. "But... it was a mother and daughter moment. A very strong one, and a very deep one. But that's... it..."

"It was more than that Mom," Cassie pressed. "You know it was."

Cassie looked deeply into her mother's eyes with genuine warmth and earnest love. Sonya stared back and Cassie could see her resolve gradually melting away.

"Cassie... please..." Sonya seemed to plead, shaking her head slowly as she seemed to tear up. It was like she was begging Cassie not to take her down this path, knowing that the point of no return wasn't far away.

"You shouldn't hide your feelings Mom," Cassie told Sonya. "Especially not now. You're worried about growing too old to find somebody, and that all your chances are behind you. And because of that, you're worried you'll be alone for the rest of your life."

Cassie took her mother's hands in hers again, pulling them to her chest. "Don't let this last opportunity pass you by," Cassie added. "I can be everything you want, and more. Not just for your sake either, but I because want to."

Sonya looked away and shook her head, though she let out a small sad chuckle as she did.

"What you say, Cassie. You make it sound so... wonderful," Sonya admitted with a shaky voice. "You paint this like some romantic fairytale or something. But we can't. It's... it's not right."

"Is giving up on a last chance at happiness right?" Cassie asked her mother. "This is it, Mom. I am it. Don't fuck this up."

"God! You're so like her," Sonya said with a long exhale. It was like she was keeping back the admission. "So much like Bridgette that it... hurts."

"If that's what it takes," Cassie said. "Then think of me as her."

"Huh?" Sonya asked.

"Don't think of me as Cassie," her daughter elaborated. "Put those thoughts out of your head. Forget it's your daughter and just think of Bridgette."

"I don't know," Sonya said reluctantly. But Cassie noted a hint of curiosity in there.

"Come," Cassie said, pulling her mother out of the chair and onto her feet. Cassie then pulled Sonya close to her, just enough for their chests to make contact. "Trust me."

Cassie hugged Sonya. "If you feel uncomfortable and want to stop, just say," Cassie assured in her mother's ear. "But until then, just close your eyes and think of Bridgette."

Sonya didn't say anything in response but after a few seconds she closed her eyes. She was wearing her sleeveless combat vest right now, though it was Cassie's mission to soon change that. The young Sergeant began to carefully encourage it off her mother's shoulders and down her arms. There was a little resistance from Sonya, or perhaps more accurately a strong tension that would reluctantly give way every so often. The important thing was that Cassie achieved victory as the garment dropped to the floor and she rewarded her mother with a gentle kiss on the now exposed shoulder, just near the strap of the gray military tank top Sonya wore. The peck resulted in the faintest sound of approval from her mother, making Cassie smile. As she pressed her lips to her mother's throat to plant another subtle smooch a second accepting noise was made from the recipient, causing Cassie's heart to flutter. Was she really doing this? Or more unbelievable, was her mother not just letting her, but enjoying it? These questions made Cassie tingle inside and feel warmer.

Cassie continued to slowly plant kisses in varied locations around her mother's neck, shoulders and upper chest. She both didn't want to rush things and scare her mother off, but she also wanted to savor the sensations. As the process continued she noticed her mother's audible reactions were gradually becoming louder and on top of that her breathing was starting to quicken ever so slightly. Cassie soon decided that not frightening and savoring was one thing, but there came a point where one had to move on. Tentatively she hooked her fingertips under her mother's right tank top shoulder strap and began easing it down her shoulder. Cassie planted a kiss where the strap once looped and her mother let out a soft sigh.

"Bridgette..."

Cassie smiled at the first word her mother had said since she started. This was working, and if Cassie was smart it would continue to work. Cassie planted a few more kisses across her mother's upper chest and throat, working her way over towards the other shoulder strap too. This time she grasped the thin loop of material in her teeth, pulling her face across and down to slip it off her mother's other shoulder. She kissed Sonya's shoulder where it used to be afterwards too, this time decided to suck at the skin a little before popping off. Again Sonya sighed in approval and called out her ex-lover's name. Cassie smiled before trailing kisses down the center of her mother's throat and upper chest, her fingertips starting to peel the upper hem of the now loosened garment down as she began to reveal the two peach orbs it once concealed. One pink-tipped sphere bobbed free, followed by another a couple of seconds later. After trailing the tip of her tongue down between them, Cassie leaned back to admire the impressive globes before her, marveling at the fact that despite her mother's age there was no signs at all that any perkiness was lost, probably due to their owner's lifestyle.

Cassie looked up to her mother's face to see Sonya still had her eyes closed and was just standing there with her mouth slightly open and her breathing quicker than normal. Cassie's attention shifted to the breast on her left first and she extended her tongue and flicked the tip of it across Sonya's already hard nipple. Sonya jumped a little which made Cassie giggle slightly and direct her eyes up to her mother's face, which she kept there to see her mother's expressions as she moved in and sucked onto the teat before her and began to suckle at it. Every so often she would tease it with her tongue or ever so lightly caress it between her teeth, actions which elicited positive responses from Sonya. It began to excite Cassie to both watch and hear her mother's expressions of approval, knowing that she was the one causing them. There was something so forbidden about it that just made it more stimulating.

"Oh Bridgette!" the General said after a particularly strong nipple nibble.

Cassie chuckled and continued to stimulate the teat, then shifted positions to begin on the other one. She suckled, licked and nipped at it for about a few seconds before she reached up and played with the first breast with her hand, gently massaging it. Sonya began to let out little gasps and Cassie felt her mother shiver. Then, after a couple of minutes of this Sonya groaned and placed her hand on the back of Cassie's head to encourage her, calling out a name breathily as she did. But it was not the same name she'd called out up until then.

"Oh! Oh Cassie..."

Cassie detached from the saliva-coated orb with a slurp and looked up at her mother. "Think of me as Bridgette," she encouraged. "Remember?"

Cassie resumed pleasuring the breasts before her, but it was only a few seconds before her mother spoke again.

"Maybe... I don't want to want to imagine that it's Bridgette." There was a pause. "Or anybody else."

Cassie stopped and looked up towards her mother's face. Sonya's eyes were open and she was staring vacantly across the room. There was a thick quiet moment before she looked down at her daughter's face, her cheeks reddening as they made eye contact. Sonya's eyelashes fluttered with abashment before a small smile came to her lips.

"Maybe I want it to be... who it really is," she said.

Now it was Cassie's turn to blush. But at the same time she felt a pleasant warmth spread throughout her at hearing that admission.

"I know that it's wrong, but why does that turn me on even more?" Cassie asked.

Sonya's cheeks bloomed and her expression matched that of a person ashamedly indulging in a guilty pleasure. "Maybe it does because it's wrong," Sonya said. "There can be a certain thrill to engaging in something... forbidden."

Cassie felt even more aroused at hearing Sonya say that, and her mother reached down to encourage her to raise back up to eye level with her, pulling her close as their eyes met at near equal level. Sonya stroked Cassie's cheek softly and blushed again as she stared lovingly into her daughter's eyes.

"I want it to be you, Cassie," she admitted. "Only you." She paused and a more carnal glint flashed in her eyes. "Now kiss me. Not as anybody else but as my beautiful daughter. But do it like no daughter should kiss their mother."

"Mom..." Cassie breathed huskily as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Sonya's.

It was not the first kiss they'd shared, but it was the first one that crossed the line from being merely mother-daughterly affection and into the realm of romantic and sexual love. Cassie moaned at the pleasurable sensations, melting into her mother's mouth with her own as she experienced what she deemed to be the best kiss she'd ever had. And then her mother's tongue slipped into her mouth and pressed against her own to make it even better. It was so soft, sensual and slippery and Cassie felt the tingle between her legs growing as light wet smacks and slurps drowned out all other sounds. The experience wasn't just one of hunger or lust, but extremely gentle and loving. More romantic than passionate, though there was a lustful hint to it. Cassie pressed against her mother with want and need, running her hands across her back and then exploring further to squeeze one of Sonya's buttocks. She felt her mother swing one leg over her hip and squeeze her closer, their breasts pressing firmly together. After a few minutes of this the two parted and stared into each other's eyes, both blushing again as they again fully realized who they'd been doing this with.

"I can't believe we just... did that," Sonya said. "That I've been making out with my own daughter."

"We've only scratched the surface Mom," Cassie said breathily and she leaned in and pressed her lips to Sonya's throat, causing her mother to moan a little. "You're so beautiful," Cassie added as a suggestive whisper.

"You're too kind," Sonya said with embarrassment. "I'm not exactly a Spring Chicken any more."

"You've aged gracefully Mom," Cassie responded, planting another kiss on her mother's upper chest. "You're a fucking MILF." She paused. "Quite literally from my perspective."

"Oh Cassie!" Sonya breathed, giving into the sensations of her daughter's lips on her skin. "This is so wrong!" A gasp. "So wrong! Why am I..."

Sonya trailed off and groaned again as Cassie twisted both of her nipples firmly and nibbled at the nape of her neck. Cassie smiled wickedly and leaned back. "Because it turns you on," she answered the never-finished question.

"I know but... it shouldn't," Sonya said, only to press in and kiss Cassie again. They parted and Cassie ran her tongue up from her mother's jaw to her temple.

"Fuck! So... wrong..." Sonya let out between gasps. A carnal moan from deep within her sounded and she turned to her daughter, hunger in her eyes. "But so good," she said before kissing Cassie again forcefully. Unlike the kiss they'd shared earlier, this one was far more primitive and lust-fuelled.

Cassie broke the kiss after a good twenty seconds, backing away as she stared into her mother's eyes lecherously. She reached up and unclipped the catch at her throat, then moved down to unclasp each of the straps that stretched across her torso. Sonya just watched as Cassie then took the zipper at her throat and slowly slid it down, leaning forward at the point her cleavage came into view to give her mother as generous an eyeful as possible.

"Enjoying the view Mom?" Cassie said with a playful wink as the zipper reached her naval.

"You're gorgeous Cassie," Sonya admitted with a slight stammer. "You've grown up so much."

"I take after you," Cassie said earnestly with a hint of passion. "Now it's your turn to enjoy the forbidden fruit of your loins."

Cassie peeled back her tactical combat bodysuit at the chest, the material stretching open and sliding off of her shoulders, then soon afterwards ejecting her firm breasts which jutted in her mother's direction. Cassie winked as she stepped closer to the woman in front of her, and she took each other her mother's hands, bringing them up to her face where she kissed them. Sonya had been a statue from the moment she saw her daughter's exposed chest.

"I suggest you start with the melons," Cassie said sultrily. "They're ripe for the squeezing."

Cassie moved Sonya's hands to her breasts, placing her mother's palms on them. As soon as Sonya started squeezing Cassie moaned and gave her mother a hungry look of encouragement.

"It's been so long since I've done this," Sonya said with warm gratification. "I never thought I'd touch another pair again." A pause and blush. "They feel so good."

"And what you're doing feels even better," Cassie said hungrily before kissing her mother's lips again.

"I can't believe I'm rubbing my little girl's breasts," Sonya said erotically as the kiss broke. "This is insane."

Sonya pressed her lips to Cassie's in a firmer, hungrier kiss. Their tongues entwined again and they drew closer. Sonya felt Cassie's knee press between her legs and slide against her crotch. She moaned and opened her eyes, blushing again at the sight of her daughter's face so close to hers. Sonya broke the kiss and leaned back, letting go of Cassie's breasts as she did.

"Cassie... wait..." Sonya said reluctantly, but forcefully.

Cassie stopped, looking at her mother curiously. "Something wrong?" she asked earnestly. "Please don't say you have regrets?"

"No," Sonya said with a deep sigh. "It's not that. Not really. Well... kind of..."

Cassie looked hurt at that, so Sonya breathed in deeply and tried to give her daughter the most reassuring look she could. She placed her hands on Cassie's shoulders and looked into her daughter's eyes deeply.

"Cassie. Honey," she began. "This is all very wonderful and exciting and... arousing, but... it's a lot to take in and accept at once. I'm suggesting that perhaps we should... slow it down a little. Not jump into the deep end of the pool all at once." A pause. "Do you understand?"

"I do," Cassie said honestly. "Truth be told, I was probably moving a little fast myself. I was just afraid that if I didn't I would... lose you."

Cassie's stare then grew more salacious and she put her bottom lip. "Also... it's hard to stop once we got started. You have no idea how much you turn me on... Mom."

The last word in Cassie's sentence combined with that stare sent a shiver through Sonya's core that went straight to her sex. She shook it off, worried that she too may have problems putting the brakes on if things like that kept happening.

"Thank you honey," Sonya said, pulling Cassie into a warm hug. "I'm glad you understand. We'll... resume this newfound relationship soon, I promise."

"Okay," Cassie said. "Do you mind if I do one last thing however?"

The hug ended as the two looked at each other from arm's length, Sonya curiously while Cassie looked rather naughty about something. "What's that?" Sonya asked, almost afraid to from the sounds of it.

Cassie stared intently at her mother's eyes then slipped one hand down the front of her own bodysuit and down inside where the zipper ended. She moaned for a moment, still watching her mother's face as the older woman looked down and suddenly jerked her eyebrows upwards at the very moment that Cassie groaned. Cassie retracted her hand and raised it before her mother, holding two glistening fingers in front of Sonya's nose. Cassie let out a small giggle and licked her lips, taking in the wide eyes and crimson cheeks before her.

"A parting gift for you Mom," Cassie said, and she used the thumb on her other hand to gently encourage Sonya's mouth open. "Think of it as a taste of things to come."

Cassie emphasized the last word and at the same moment slipped the dewy coated fingers into her mother's mouth, pressing them against her mother's tongue. She felt her mother shiver as the older woman hesitantly ran her tongue along her digits. Sonya then softly sucked at them, until Cassie slowly slid them out with a cheeky smile, watching her mother's expression change from shock to curiosity and then to arousal over the exchange.

Before Sonya could respond Cassie stepped back and zipped up her bodysuit again, clipped it back in place in a rather casual manner. "I guess I'd best be off," she said. "I look forward to our next... training session."

With that Cassie turned and winked over her shoulder at her mother, then sashayed out the door with a deliberately sexy swing of her hips and rear end. Sonya just looked on, admiring Cassie's figure and flirtatious movements in the becoming attire that she'd once initially chastised her daughter for on the basis that it was "too tight" in her mind. She had no such complaints now, except for the fact that it all just disappeared from her view as the door closed behind Cassie with a lonely click. Sonya had literally only had a taste of her daughter, and she abashedly wanted more. For the moment though, she was going to have to wait. But she knew she was going to be giving herself quite the session with her fingers that evening. And it was not going to be Bridgette she pictured in her mind's eye this time.


End file.
